Nialler's Princess
by AnnyBee
Summary: Melody has always loved her best friend Niall. But after her parents' divorce and her mother's sudden need to move they became distant. With his XFactor debut and his instant rise to fame she feels like he has forgotten her. Now, Niall is back from his long tour and ready to return to is princess
1. Chapter 1

I sat outside watching the sun go down, swaying back and forth on our swing-set thinking about the past. Everything seems to have gone so fast. I remember walking next to him on our way from school, laughing at the faces and little dances he did. That was what I loved most in the world, being with him. No matter what it was, whenever I was sad I knew all I had to do was dial his number and he'd make me feel better. I always wanted to do the same for him. Then the audition came. I suppose it was my fault, I told him he should go. If I hadn't said anything he'd probably never have gone and he'd still be here, with me. No, he definitely wouldn't have gone. He's too loyal. If I would've told him to stay he would have... But I could never have done that to him. Niall always loved to sing and it was his dream to go and become a professional artist. To sing, with the best artists in the world, sell out arenas, and have his own album. Well, his wish came true. Now he's famous and all I can do is watch him get bigger and bigger and farther and farther from me and the past we shared.

"Melody!" my mom called from inside "Melody, where are you?!"

"Coming!" I said jumping out of the swing and getting back to the present.

"Honey, I have to go now. Are you sure you'll be alright all by yourself?" she asked worried.

"I'll be fine Mom. It's not the first time I've stayed home alone before"

"I know but you're my little girl,"

"I'm 18" I interrupted.

"...and we just moved here so I don't know if it's safe."

"It's been two years…" I said with a hint of sadness slipping out.

"I'm just worried about you Hun." She said in her southern American accent. I didn't really have an accent, probably because of all the moving we did. We lived in Ireland for most of my life although I was actually born in Texas and so was my mother. We had moved to my dad's hometown Mullingar, but after their divorce my mom moved us here, to London. It wasn't so bad but I missed Mullingar. That's where all my memories were. Where I grew up, where I fell and got my little scars, and where I met him...

"Melody!" my mom yelled

"Huh? What is it?"

"You were spacing out on me again, Hun. Maybe I shouldn't go."

"No you have to, it's your job. I'll be fine I promise. I've taken care of myself before. I know how to cook and clean and everything. Go it'll be fine" I added as I saw her hesitant face.

"Well alright sugah but if anything happens you call me and I'll be on the first plane back you got that"

"Yes ma'am." I said and hugged her goodbye. I watched as my mom pulled out of the driveway and made her way to the airport.

I decided to sit there for a while on the front step and watch the sky. After my parents' divorce, my mom decided to turn her life around, so she quit her old job as a chef to work in something more businesslike. She now works for a company who sells... something. She always tells me what it is and I always forget. But now she travels all over the world to meet other businesses and make deal with them and such stuff. I find it extremely tedious but she likes it and I'm happy for her. It was getting late and I still had to do the dishes so I decided I better get it over with. While most people hated chores like doing the dishes I actually enjoyed it. I always felt like a kid as I did it, playing with the bubbles and splashing around everywhere. There was one time were we made such a mess with water Mom said Niall and I would be better help outside... Niall...

Every once in a while I get a call from him but the more famous he gets the less I hear from him. It's now been 3 months since he last texted me, not even having time to call anymore. I'm proud of him, of all he's accomplished but it's still sad. I will never forget his face when we waited outside, in the freezing cold, for his audition in Dublin. He was so excited and so nervous. I told him he'd be fine, that he was the Irish Justin Bieber, and he just laughed thanking me for going with him. Of course since that day, even before the judges had said yes, I knew... That was the last time I would ever get to joke like that with him, there was no way Nialler wouldn't make it into the X Factor and I was right. As I finished the dishes I made my way up to my room. I walked in I threw myself on my bed, too exhausted to care what I was wearing. I hugged the stuffed panda Niall had gotten me for my 15th birthday and tried to think of other things that wouldn't make me so sad. Easier said than done of course. And I drifted off to sleep thinking of our last goodbye, as he got his stuff packed for boot camp, and the last time I would see him for the next two years.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to the sound of Lego House and it took me a while to realize it was my phone. When had I changed the ringtone? I reached for it but when I finally got it the ringing had stopped. Unlocking it so I could see who called I saw the picture of Niall and I in Dublin, waiting for his audition. Back before everything changed from the way it should be. I still had my friends, my parents were still together, and Niall was standing next to me with his adorable smile with crooked teeth that I had loved so much. I really needed to change that picture. Before I could check my missed messages Ed started singing again. It had been Lexi. Lexi was my best friend who had moved to London from the U.S. for school and worked as a waitress to pay off her school fees. Her parents had gotten a divorce too so she understood me on that level. Well on any level actually; sometimes I wondered if she could read my mind. I realized I had drifted off again and decided to answer before she got mad at me.

"Hello?" I said still not fully awake

"Mel! Where are you?" Definitely Lexi. My mom was the only person who called me Melody, everyone else just said Mel for short.

"I-"

"Are you home still?" she interrupted which didn't surprise me

"Wel-"

"I knew it! You're still home!"

"Lex-"

"You know how long I've been waiting for you?!"

"I-"

"Five minutes! Oh wait five minutes? I guess it isn't that long. Still though why aren't you here yet?!" I loved her but no one confused me like she did.

"Lexi! What are you talking about?" I almost yelled trying to get my words in

"Huh what?"

"Where are you waiting for me?" I groaned slightly as her screaming was giving me a headache.

"I'm at the restaurant. You said you'd meet me here and we'd go out when my morning shift was over."

"...I never said that" I told her as I got up and walked towards my bathroom rubbing my eyes

"You didn't?"

"No"

"Oh. Well anyway why don't you come and then we can spend the day together?" She said suddenly very cheerful. I sometimes wondered how a person could be like that. I was pretty convinced she was bipolar but she refused to get herself tested.

"Sure but you come here"

"Why I'm already here" she whined

"And I'm already here so why don't you come here and then you can drag me around wherever you want." I told her as I started brushing my teeth.

"Ugh fine. You see what I do for you. I'll be there in a little bit"

"Alwite" I said with the toothbrush still in my mouth and hung up.

I turned on the shower and started to get ready for my day with Lexi.

I came downstairs with my shoes in hand to see Lexi already sitting on my couch watching some celebrity news channel. We were so close that my mom gave her an extra key to our house. I had a feeling that it was her way of making the move easier on me. I sat down next to Lexi and started tying the laces of my converse when I heard the one thing that would get me down this early in the day.

"Ladies get ready because in just a couple of days the lads from One Direction will be coming back home from their long Up All Night tour." said the girl wearing a dress that was way too tight to be casual. As she spoke all I could think was _Please don't say his name. Please don't say his name_.

"Soon those handsome boys..."

_Please, please, please, please,_

"Harry, Louis, Liam, Zayn and Niall,"

_Shoot_

"Will be all ours once again coming here to London"

_Great..._

"So get ready for the-" Lexi had turned off the TV

"You couldn't have done that sooner" I said a little too loud, not really feeling like doing anything anymore.

"Sorry I was just flipping channels and they had been talking about Channing Tatum when I stopped there, I swear. Well let's go, come on, it'll take your mind off it"

"I don't want to anymore. I think I'll just stay home and sulk now"

"Don't be like that! Come on I'll buy you a milkshake then we'll have all the boys come to our yard."

"I guess" I said not really in the mood to laugh.

"That's my girl. Alright come on before you change your mind" she said and pushed me out the door.

"Tell me again why you don't wanna see him" Lexi asked for what seemed to be the thousandth time since she found out I knew Niall Horan. It had been a relief that she didn't fangirl over it even though I knew she was a fan of their music. I loved her even more for that.

"Because it's not how it was before" I said

"As in..." she trailed off pushing me to answer her question.

"As in now my parents are divorced, my dad hardly ever calls or sends email or whatever. As in it's been over two years since I last saw him and over 3 months since I last heard from him. As in he's famous now and if he wanted to talk to me he would have and-"

"Alright, alright, I get it. So things have changed, doesn't mean he has."

"But you don't get it even if he's the same why would he talk to me? Not just because I'm a nobody but because now he probably has a lot more friends and things to do and-"

"Would you stop putting yourself down already? When people say stuff about you it makes me wanna hit them and I can't hit you now can I."

"But it's just-"

"That's it!" Lexi said and kicked my leg under the outdoor tables we were sitting at.

"Ow! Why'd you kick me?!"

"I said I wasn't gonna hit you but I said nothing about kicking. My milkshakes running low I'mma get a refill you want anything"

"Yeah some napkins for my blood" I hissed at her

"Please you know I can kick harder than that. You're fine and I'll be right back" she said and patted my head before she left. She did have a temper and she always spoke her mind which was what I liked about her in the first place. However it did get her into a lot of trouble which I then had to go and fix. But she was always there when I needed her and apart from the occasional injury she was especially nice to me.

I knew Lexi meant well but I just didn't want to get my hopes up. It was going to be hard enough being in the same country as him, not to mention city, and expecting him to want to spend time with me was just plain unrealistic. I had lived with the hope that nothing would change not between my parents or me and my friends but they did. And if there's one thing that I learned from that it's that, no matter what, things will never stay the same. Whether it be good or bad there will be change and all we can do is move on from the past and treasure the memories we once lived.


	3. Chapter 3

We had left the smoothie shop and where now walking around window shopping. The entire time Lexi hadn't stopped talking about Niall. That was probably because she knew how much I missed him. But it got me sad, thinking about it the way she did, because I knew that would never happen. She had finally stopped talking but I knew it wouldn't last long. I walked by a store with some nice dresses on display and I drifted off again. One thing leading to another in my mind, leaving me thinking of going for a picnic, when Lexi interrupted my thoughts.

"All I'm saying is"

_There it is_ I thought and took a sip of my milkshake

"That, you know-"

"I know what you're saying Lexi but you know I just don't want to get my hopes up."

"Alright fine you're stubborn and I know when to shut up."

_No you don't_

"Then just look around it'll take your mind off things."

"Yeah you're right it's not like everywhere I turn and every store we go to has something to do with One Direction" I said sarcastically looking at clothes and merchandise covering stores and even people all around us.

"Well I mean there is some stuff so you do-"

"I was being sarcastic"

"Oh. Wait you can do that? Anyway it's not that bad"

"That girl has his face on her shirt…" We both stared as she walked by. Knowing she could say nothing to make me feel better Lexi just took my hand and pulled me into one of the stores there.

We weren't rich but we had money so it wasn't a big deal for me to buy myself and Lexi some things from time to time. Although it wasn't long before I saw his face again Lexi did a pretty good job of distracting me for the day. I loved her. We got home and put our bags in the living room. Lexi went to get a snack to watch a movie we rented and I went in search of my cellphone. After the call this morning I had left it in my room. If I had missed a call from my mom she'd probably be on the first plane back to London by now. Eventually, I found it on my bed and made my way back down the stairs to the living room.

"I made popcorn!" Lexi yelled as she heard my footsteps. "So are we expecting your mom anytime soon or...?"

"There's a missed call but it's not from her."

"Well I'm here so who else calls you" she asked genuinely surprised

"Other people call me... Just not as often. I don't recognize the number though."

"It's probably your stalker then" she said shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"I don't have a stalker." Although I knew she was joking it still creeped me out a bit. Since I was a kid I always though I saw things when there was nothing really there so the idea of a stalker wasn't very pleasant. But why someone would want to stalk me I didn't know…

"Mel" Lexi said in a singsong manner

"What? Oh there's a message"

"From your stalker" she said throwing some popcorn at me

"You're cleaning that up" I laughed and started listening to the message. Lexi said something but I couldn't hear her because the boy on the other side of my phone had all my attention. I stood quietly as the angelic voice with that Irish accent spoke to me.

"Hey Kitty, it's me. It's Niall."

Like I could forget his voice. And nobody else but Niall called me Kitty anymore…

"Listen I know I haven't called you in a while and I'm so sorry. I broke my phone and my other one didn't have your number on it. I knew I should have put it in last that day." He said the last part to himself but was it really him? Was it really Niall? Or had my feelings for him finally made me snap and I was imagining this whole thing… I made myself focus on his voice in case this was real, so I wouldn't miss anything he said.

"I didn't have time to get it fixed; you know how busy we've been. I'm so sorry. I missed you. As you probably heard we're heading back to London and it'll be a while until I go home so I thought we could spend some time together. Yeah I'm coming! Hey I gotta go I'm using my friend's phone mine's out of battery and it won't charge because it's still pretty messed up. We're on our way to the airport. I'll see you soon Kitty"

The message ended and all I could do was stand there with my phone still by my ear. From the moment he said Kitty all those memories started flashing back. When we were kids and he found out my middle name was Katherine he and all my other friends started calling me Kitty. And although as I grew up everyone went to Mel he continued to call me Kitty.

"Mel!" Lexi yelled getting my attention back to earth.

"Huh what is it?"

"You spaced out again. You were starting to scare me. Who was that?"

"Niall" I whispered

"Who?"

"It was Niall"

"I told you so. I told you so" Lexi gloated after she heard the message Niall had left on my phone

"Of course he'd say that if he didn't his mom would get mad at him. In fact, Maura calls me more than he does." Lexi just rolled her eyes and walked towards my couch. I'd like to believe that it was true, that Niall really wanted to see me but that just didn't seem likely.

"Why don't you think it's likely that he wants to see you?" Lexi asked surprising me. Either she was reading my mind again or I had said it out loud. Either one seemed possible so I didn't even ask.

"If he really missed me and wanted to see me why didn't he come visit me last time he had time off."

"You know exactly why. Last time he was here your mom took you with her to New York and you just missed him."

"Why do you keep defending him?" I demanded frustrated at her answers

"Because you want me to" was all she said. After that Lexi just smiled and went on to play our rented movie. I sat next to her and watched the romantic comedy that made me wonder if that kind of love was even possible.

I heard Ed's voice again and found Lexi and I had fallen asleep on the couch. It didn't matter, all love stories ended the same so I didn't even need to watch it to know what would happen. I didn't want to wake up Lexi but I couldn't find my phone. During my little nap I had lost it again. _Great..._ Finally, I found it under the couch. I reached for my phone just as it stopped ringing. I was worried it would be my mom but open my missed calls to see the same number that I'd missed last time. Niall's number. Well Niall's friend's number. I stared at it for a little bit and began to lose myself in thought when a beep woke me up from it. Another voicemail. Again Niall's angelic voice was at the other end of it.

"Hey Kitty. I really hope you're not avoiding me. I said I was sorry I really did break my phone. I just wanted to call and tell you we just landed and that maybe you could come over. Or maybe I could go over. I miss you. I still owe you two birthday presents remember. I hope you still like pandas. Well it is late so maybe you're asleep. Yeah maybe that's why you didn't answer. How about I call you tomorrow? Alright well goodnight. I probably won't sleep for a while. Jetlag you know. So then if you're awake call me. If not I'll call you. Well goodnight Kitty."

And again all I could do was sit there and loose myself in thought.


	4. Chapter 4

*Niall POV*

I hung up the phone as I finished my message. That was the second one today and knowing Kitty she would have had her phone with her. I hoped she wasn't mad at me. I sighed and slowly walked back to the boys.

"So how did it go?" Louis was the first to ask.

"She didn't answer" was all I said as I handed him back his phone.

"Well maybe she's asleep it is pretty late now." said Liam this time

"Even if she was she keeps her phone close to her all the time. Her mom travels a lot now and if she doesn't answer she worries. Plus she's a light sleeper she would've woken up from it." I was even more certain now that she was avoiding me. _I knew I should have put her number in both phones!_

"Maybe she was really tired" again Liam, trying to cheer me up

"Wait, how do you know she's a light sleeper?" asked Harry with a big smile on his face.

"Harry!" said the other three at his comment but I just laughed.

"We were childhood friends, we had sleepovers, you pervert. I would wake up and find her sitting there looking outside because she said the birds wouldn't let her sleep." I said smiling at the memory.

"Well I'm going to get a sandwich anyone else want one?" asked Louis getting up and making his way to the kitchen.

"I'll have one." said Harry

"Me too" Zayn said

"Me three" I told him

"Really you only want one?" asked Zayn

"I said three didn't I?" I said holding up three fingers. We all laughed and Louis went to make the sandwiches. Liam got up to help.

"So why is this girl so special?" Harry asked looking straight at me

"Yeah the whole flight here you seemed really stressed about her getting your message and we barely got back and you've already called her again" said Zayn

"Because she's... special. She's the reason I'm even here. She talked me into auctioning for the X Factor and went with me to the audition in Dublin and always believed I could do this. She's my best friend"

"Hey!" Louis yelled from the kitchen and we all laughed.

"Besides you guys of course. She's my best girl friend... Wait! I mean you know not girlfriend but a girl friend." I added when I saw Harry and Zayn's wicked smiles.

"It's okay Niall we understand." Zayn said which made me sigh audibly.

"Of course we do," Harry said then looked over at Zayn

"You like her!" they both screamed

"No I don't! We're just really close!" I screamed back.

"Yeah the good kind of close" Harry winked at me while Zayn ran over to me to play with my hair.

"Would you… Hey! Get off me!" I screamed at them as Harry joined in.

"Look, look, he's blushing!" yelled Zayn.

"Am not! Stop it"

"Alright we got sandwiches!" announced Liam as he came in with 7 sandwiches.

"Yum!" Zayn said and let go of my hair. Harry shuffled it a couple of more times and went for his own sandwich. Liam set the sandwiches on the coffee table and he and Louis sat down. As I reached for my first sandwich I started to hear a phone ringing.

"Oh that's mine I must have left it in the kitchen" Louis said but by the time he stood up I was already halfway to the kitchen. I heard the guys laugh but I didn't care. If that was really Kitty calling back I didn't really care about anything else. I just wanted to hear her voice again. Finally I reached Louis's phone and answered in a hurry.

"Hello? Hello?" I said a little out of breath.

"Hi, Niall is that you?" It was Eleanor. Damn.

"Oh yeah hi El"

"I must've called your number by accident. Wait did you get your phone fixed already?"

"No this is Lou's" I said as I walked over to him. I handed him the phone and slumped down on the floor grabbing my sandwich and taking a big bite out of it. Louis took the phone to the other room and I prepared myself for what I knew was gonna be a long night of teasing from the boys.

"Go on" I told them through my mouthful of food as they were just staring at me. "Say what you want"

"Oh we wouldn't dare say anything" said Harry

"Yeah, it's not our place to stand in between... Love" Zayn said as he and Harry fluttered their eyelashes.

Liam laughed as I tried kicking them and put his hand on my shoulder. "If you admit it they'll stop teasing you"

"No they won't!" I told him swallowing the last bit of my sandwich and reaching for a second.

"He's right we won't." said Harry and started making kissing noises with Zayn pretending to kiss each other.

"Harry! I leave the room for two minutes and this is what I find!" Louis yelled as he came back into the living room. Now it was my turn to laugh as they got in trouble with Louis. They joke and tease but maybe they're right. Maybe I do love Kitty.


	5. Chapter 5

"Give it! Will you give me that phone already!" Lexi screamed at me trying to take my phone away from me. The phone had woken her up after all and by the time she became fully awoke she found me sitting on the floor staring off into space. I guess his voice still affected me in ways I couldn't explain, or control. While in my daze, Lexi, of course, had taken my phone and listened to my message. Again. She was so pushy...

"Ow!" I said as she stepped on my toes trying to get the phone from me. I was somewhat short for my age but Lexi was just slightly shorter than that. I was 160 cm tall (about 5'3") and Lexi followed with a few centimeters below. Although, she did wear a lot of heels, which often made me seem like the short one between us. "Ow! Stop stepping on me!"

"Well then give me that phone!" I wasn't sure what she wanted with it but if I would agree with whatever she had planned she would've just told me about it. She hadn't. Suddenly she stopped any attempt at getting my phone and just stood there in front of me. She became surprisingly quiet with what I had learned to recognize as her evil smile painted on her face. This worried me. A lot.

"What?" I asked not letting my guard down

"This is your last warning. Give me the phone and nothing bad will happen."

"Lexi, no. And what do you mean by ba-" was all I said before she jumped on me. Having grown up with four brothers she was skilled in fighting. In about two seconds she had me on my back down on the floor. And, in another four seconds, she had my shoulders pinned underneath her knees and was crushing my body under her weight. Who knew such a petite girl could weigh so much! As I struggled a bit to breath Lexi simply reached over my head to where my phone had landed.

"You're evil!" I hissed at her as I managed to make my breaths even.

"It's your fault for being my friend." She said not faced at all. "Plus, I did warn you. So really this is all your fault."

"You have the weirdest logic." I said trying to wiggle out from underneath her. "What do you want with my phone anyway you already heard the message."

"Let me ask you something." she said either not realizing I was trying to escape or not worried that I would be able to get out. Probably the later.

"What did you forget the password?"

"Why don't you wanna talk to him?" Her question surprised me and I didn't answer. I couldn't. In reality I didn't know why I just knew that since I had heard his voice that I couldn't talk to him. I didn't want to face what he might think of me or… He just had too much control over me. That sort of control of someone shouldn't be legal but Niall's too pretty for jail…

"Mel, you obviously miss him, and I'm sure he misses you so-"

"You don't know that" I interrupted her. "For all we know he didn't even break his phone at all. Or..." I trailed off feeling too hurt to want to think of why else he wouldn't want to talk to me.

"Now I know you don't believe that. If he didn't care about you why would he call you. Twice now. And it hasn't even been a day's time."

"I know but..."

"Do I have to kick you again?" she said with a smile.

"No..."

"Alright well since you still look a little confused why don't we ask him huh"

"Wait what?!" I said as I finally realized why she wanted my phone in the first place. Niall's number. Well his friends' number. She wouldn't! …Yes, she would.

"Oh by the way I do remember your password" she said and she winked at me unlocking my phone.

"No!" I screamed and reached for my phone but I didn't even get close. I had forgotten she had me pinned down, my hands being pushed down by her feet. "What do you eat woman?!" I yelled but she just laughed and ignored me looking for the number.

"Well then," she said with that same evil smile, "why don't we give him a little call."


	6. Chapter 6

*Niall's POV*

"I'm still hungry" I said as I finished my last sandwich.

"Niall when are you not hungry? All you ever do is eat. How are you not falling through the floorboards yet?" Zayn said

"I have a high metabolism, do we have any leftovers?" I asked and started walking towards the kitchen. I felt extra hungry today for some reason. Maybe it was all the worrying I was doing over Kitty but all I knew was I, was, Hungry.

"Niall you have to cool it mate or you'll explode." Louis called to me from the living room

"I'm fine. Hey can we order a pizza? Or maybe two." I said after I found nothing in the kitchen. Well except for this bag of crisps.

"Niall?" Liam said sounding a little worried

"Yeah?" I asked and shoved a handful of the crisps into my mouth

"Niall how old are those?" Harry asked

"I don't know. They're not bad though." I said as I swallowed them and put another bunch in my mouth.

"You're a pig" Lou said

"I'm not talking to you!" I screamed at him. I wasn't really mad but he had upset me a little. That evil jerk.

"It wasn't my fault you thought she called" he replied

"Was too"

"Was not"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Niall, all Louis said was 'guess who' he never said it was Kitty who called" Liam defended Louis. Lou just gave me a smile and a "humph" sound looking satisfied with himself. I stuck my tongue out at him. He did the same.

"Liam's right it's not Lou's fault your obsessed with this cat girl." Zayn said laughing at us.

"She's not some cat girl! Her name is Kitty!" I said a little louder than necessary.

"Why do you call her that anyway?" Louis asked forgetting I said I wouldn't talk to him

"Yeah is it because you like her little kitty?" Harry asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"Would you stop with that!" I screamed at him feeling my face grow slowly warmer and warmer.

"Look he's blushing again" Zayn screamed

"Wait so why do you call her that. I thought you said her name was Melody." Liam asked. Whenever I talked to her I always called her Kitty but whenever I talked about her I always ended up using her first name instead. It's a weird habit I developed.

"It is," I answered Liam. "Her name is Melody I just always call her Kitty. Only when I talk to her though otherwise I call her Mel."

"Well why don't you just call her Mel all the time then?" asked Louis

"Yeah I got confused when you told Lou you were calling Mel then said Kitty. I seriously thought you were talking to a cat." Harry said

"When we were little everyone called her Kitty but when we got older they started calling her Mel. I was the one who started calling her Kitty in the first place so I stuck with it. But, whenever I'd ask someone else about her for whatever reason they never knew who I was talking about, unless they had grown up with us." Oh I guess I did know

"Oh so you call her Kitty because that's your name for her but you got used to calling her by her real name in front of other people." Liam said finally understanding.

"That seems like a lot of work" Zayn commented

"Well I'm sure for her it's worth it, right Niall" Harry said to me grinning from ear to ear.

"I would throw these at you but I'm hungry," I told Harry. "I'll throw the bag at you when I'm done" They all laughed but all was silent when we heard Lou's phone ringing again.

"Oh Niall" Zayn said in a singsong

"Don't even mate, I'm not answering that" I told him

"Could be Kitty" Lou said almost shoving the phone in my face

"Last time it was Eleanor, then your mum, then Eleanor again. I'm not picking up this time." I said and crossed my arms.

"Just answer it" Liam told me but I just sat there and waited although it was killing me watching the bright light of the phone reflecting off Louis's face.

"Hello?" he asked and my heart dropped. What if it was Kitty. What if she heard it wasn't me and hung up. But it was too late now and all I could do was watch Louis as he talked to her. If it was her.

"Look, Niall stopped eating" Zayn said and they all laughed except for me. Even Louis who was on the phone laughed.

"Well why are you calling if you don't know me?" he asked.

"Who is it?" Harry yelled at Lou. I shoved the bag of crisps in his face so he wouldn't make any more noise.

"Shhhhh!" I told him trying to listen in on who was talking on the other line. Liam and Zayn started laughing and I heard muffled sounds coming from Harry which didn't help me with listening to the conversation.

"What love," Louis asked distracted by our little scene. "Oh no he used my phone to call you. I'm not the one who called." With that I knew, it was Kitty. She was on the other side of that line. What if she thought I was ignoring her? What if she just hung up and never talked to me again?

"Niall are you okay mate?" Liam asked but I was too focused on Louis to listen to what anyone else was saying.

"Oh is that so?" Lou said. I had a feeling he was purposefully talking in a way so that I wouldn't know what they were talking about. "Oh well I don't know if he'll wanna talk to you."

"What?!" I screamed and started to get up but Harry held onto me. Zayn then rushed over and covered my mouth. As much as I screamed at Lou I doubt he heard me much less Kitty.

"Yup, yup, that's right... Yeah it is... Alright well I'm hanging up now... Yup, alright." Louis spoke as I desperately tried to get out from under Zayn and Harry. I could take one of them but not both at the same time. It's not like I was Liam.

"Alright I think I've tortured him enough." said Louis confusing me. "Niall phone for you."


	7. Chapter 7

"Lexi! What are you doing?!" I screamed still not able to break out from under her. Either I was really weak or she was freakishly strong. Maybe both. "Ugh!" Definitely both

"Would you relax you're going to wrinkle my jeans," she joked although I didn't see how any of this could be funny. I was going to have to have a talk with her brothers for teaching her this sort of thing. "Oh yeah, hey who is this?" Lexi asked, I had heard her say that it wasn't Niall before and I was a little curious myself but breaking free from her was only going to happen if I focused all of my attention on that.

"Lexi!"

"Oh hey. Mel, it's Louis. Hey, Louis, I like your hair… Yeah, you're welcome… Oh no actually-"

"Get off of me!"

"Mel, you're interrupting my conversation with Louis. Huh? Oh no she's usually very calm just she doesn't like being pinned down to the ground I'm guessing… Oh him too… Mel, Niall doesn't like to be held down against his will either. Isn't that cute? You two are so similar it's so adorable!"

"Off! Now!" I yelled and kicked my foot up to where it almost hit her. It didn't though. And now I was tired.

"Well that was close. Hey is Niall violent too?" Lexi asked forgetting all about me again and focusing on Louis. "Well he's probably mad because you told him you were going to give him the phone then didn't… Oh he does?!"

"He what? Lexi this is getting really annoying"

"Shhh" she said and covered my mouth. "Well then put him on, I wanna talk to him… No, no… Alright bye… He's gonna put Niall on the phone now" She said taking her hand off my mouth so I could reply.

"I'm pretty sure this is illegal somehow you know. Holding someone against their will like this. Maybe some sort of abuse law or something" I said trying to scare her but knowing that even if there was she wouldn't care. She doesn't really care for rules or legal matters.

"I love you too Mel. Oh wait he's on now" she said and covered my mouth again. "Hi, Niall right… Yeah my name's Lexi… Oh she talked about me. Aw Mel, well aren't you sweet… Huh? Oh yeah she's here but I wanted to talk to you first… Yeah I have a question for you… How do you feel about Mel?"

"What?!" I screamed louder than I thought I would, or could for that matter. It surprised both of us so Lexi took her hand off my mouth. "That's what you wanted to ask?!"

"Mel, please, stop interrupting me… I told you she was here… Answer the question, then you can talk to her… Well I'm waiting!" she told Niall. Of course she would do this, she knew how I really felt. This is why I always had to tell Lexi everything, because if I didn't, I couldn't tell her not to pull stuff like this beforehand.

"Give me the phone right now!"

"Excuse me Niall. Mel, what did we talk about?"

"Lexi, if you don't give me that phone right now I will return all the things that I bought you today… yesterday… whatever day it is… was… just give me the phone!"

"You wouldn't… you would, damn. Well it was nice talking to you Niall but I have to go. Why don't you just give Mel your answer instead, 'kay? Bye now." She said and put the phone in my hand were her foot had just been. "I'm gonna take a shower" she yelled as she ran up the stairs before I could catch her.

"Hello?" I heard a faint voice say and realized that the call was still going. And Niall was at the other end of it.

"Hi." I said so quietly I was afraid he hadn't heard it but knew he had when I hear him sigh. Why would he sigh? Maybe I just imagined it; I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

"Kitty, hey, I'm so glad you answered." He said sounding relieved. Again with the imagining…

"Of course I answered, why wouldn't I. Oh duh you mean because I didn't the last two times, right. Sorry I kept losing my phone."

"Well actually I thought you were mad at me…" He said it with such an adorably small voice I almost awed aloud.

"No- I mean why would I be mad? You didn't do anything wrong, right?" I asked thinking of his broken phone. Maybe he had lied to me and that's why he felt bad…

"Kitty? Kitty, are you still there?" he asked worried.

"Yeah- yeah of course I- I'm still here" I stuttered. Why did I stutter? Darn his beautiful Irish voice!

"Good, listen I'm so sorry I didn't call you sooner. My phone broke and, well I already sort of explained that. Please don't be mad at me. I got you your late birthday present. If you want to come over I can give it to you," he said sounding hopeful. Seriously my mind needed to take a break from making things like this up. Why would he sound hopeful? He's famous and popular and why would he-

"Kitty, you're spacing out again aren't ya?" he said and started laughing. Oh how I've missed that laugh!

"Yeah, so- sorry" Ugh again with the stuttering

"I thought you'd be done doing that by now." He was still laughing at what I now guessed was some memory of me in the middle of something important but staring off into space like I always had.

"I'm sorry" I said not knowing what else there was to say. "I missed you" I added at the very last second feeling extremely embarrassed as I did. What kind of thing was that to say? Well it wasn't bad but-

"I missed you too" he said and all of me just shut down. Of course this wasn't that uncommon for friends to say to one another. But the way he had said it, with such emotion… We were both quiet for a little while after that, not in awkward silence but just, silence. Finally I was the first to speak

"So how long are you going to be in town?"

"I'm not sure, I told my mum I'd visit but she told me that I should spend some time with you, seeing how we haven't seen each other in two years and all."

"Yeah we should. I could introduce you to Lexi although I suggest you wear a lot of coats or some sort of padding. I'm the person she's the nicest to and she had me pinned to the ground not too long ago." He laughed, and I laughed because he laughed. It had been so long since we talked and I missed it, so much that it scared me. While I knew how amazing Niall was I had never understood how girls could scream their heads off just to get him to notice them. And now, sitting here, having him put all his attention on me, felt like a prize. No X Factor, no concerts, no nothing to keep him busy, just him, talking to me, how it used to be. Thinking about it now, I understood those girls. I would scream until I lost my voice if it meant being able to have time with Niall like this. We talked all night, well what was left of it, and it felt like I couldn't have asked for something better than this. It wouldn't have been possible.


	8. Chapter 8

"Ugh since when did picking out clothes become so hard?" I whined to myself as I looked for something to wear today. Normally I didn't care what I looked like; I could put on a pair of faded jeans and a baggy t-shirt and it'd be fine. Today was different. Today I went to see Niall. And if that wasn't nerve wreaking enough it was the first time I was seeing him in the last two years. If I didn't know any better I'd say someone wanted to torture me. And they were doing a really good job of it.

I looked at my phone for a really long time contemplating whether I should call Lexi or not. She had gone to work this morning before I could tell her about my lunch date with Niall. No not date just a meeting between friends… I sighed and decided that Lexi would probably save me hours of indecision so I gave her a call. After the first two rings Lexi answered.

"Well hey there sleeping beauty are done resting from that long night talk with your lover" she said emphasizing the word lover.

"Can't you go a day without saying something like that?" I asked while in my head thinking of the best way to ask her advice without letting her know where I was going. Suddenly I remembered she was supposed to be at work "Hey are you on your break already?"

"Nope. The manager went out so I don't really have to do much. It's slow anyway so I'm just sitting back for now"

"You're gonna get fired." I warned her still not able to think of a stealthy way to ask her advice.

"Nah. None of the people here are rats so it's fine they won't tell. Hey so why are you calling me usually you wait till my shift is done before you do." Again I sighed. I hadn't been able to come up with anything useful so I decided to just tell her the truth.

"I need your advice on what to wear..."

"Since when do you care about what to wear? I remember last time you took me to an art gallery and you wore sweats. Yeah I'm going!" she yelled at someone else. "Keep talking I can wait tables and talk at the same time so don't you dare hang up on me," she warned, although I didn't fully believe she was telling me the truth.

"Yeah well... I'm going to go somewhere today and I want to look... I don't know I just can't decide what to wear so I thought I'd call you..." I said not being able to make myself say where I was going

"Well where are you going that is getting you so worked up?"

"Alright fine, don't scream or anything but... I'm going to go see Niall."

"What?!" I heard her yell at me. "You are going to go see Niall Ho-"

"Lexi! Shush!"

"I'm sorry but-"

"Excuse me," I heard someone on the other side of the phone ask. It must've been someone Lexi was serving. "Were you going to say Niall Horan. Oh my God! Do you know Niall Horan?!" the girl started asking really loud. This was the kind of reaction I had been scared of when I first told Lexi. And I didn't know what to say. Thankfully, unlike me, Lexi always had something to say.

"Excuse me? You seriously think I know Niall Horan? The famous, boy band member, Niall Horan?" I heard her say to my relief.

"We heard you say Niall!" I heard the girl insist.

"Alright honey, first of all, do not listen in on my conversation. Secondly, I'm sorry but I think there's something wrong with your hearing because I said Neil. Now here's your check so pay up and leave."

"Lexi that's why you never get tips" I told her but felt extremely relieved at the way she had handled that so easily where I would have just crumbled.

"Well so where are you gonna go with Neil? That way I can tell you what to where to go see Neil." The way she kept saying Neil made me think those girls were still listening.

"He said it'd probably be best if I went over to where he's staying since there's security and everything there."

"Aww you're going over to Neil's house! Your lover boy missed you!" she said with a smile in her voice

"We're just having lunch, relax!" I joked with her although I was having a mental break down thinking about it.

"Well I say you wear the tightest thing you own."

"That's not the kind of help I need Lexi. And besides, I don't even think I own anything tight." I told her looking through my closet

"Well use some of the clothes I have there. It's been two years you have to show him what he's been missing!" she said and I was pretty sure that if she had been here with me she would have winked... Or forced me into the clothes she wanted even if she had to tie me up with a rope... Something like that.

"Lexi..." was all I said and apparently that was enough.

"Alright fine, if you're going to be that way," she sighed. "Well what would you wear of you were going to see me?"

"Um I don't know. Jeans a shirt and some flats or converse I guess but what does that have to do wi-"

"Alright well since you won't wear anything tight that means you still wanna look like you, right?" she interrupted. "So them just wear jeans a shirt and flats 'cause at least they look cuter than converse."

"That doesn't help either. I could have thought of that. I called you because I wanted to look nice."

"Well then make it look nice. Wear nice jeans, a nice shirt, nice flats, and make your hair nice. That way you look nice and you're comfortable." She was ditzy sometimes but I had to admit it, Lexi was a genius in her own way

"Yeah alright that makes sense but which should I wear? Do you think-"

"Oh shit! Hey Mel I have to go the manager's back early so I need to start working again. Love ya, good luck babe!"

"Lexi!" I yelled but it was too late and all I heard was the dial tone loud in my ear. I sighed heavily. "Shoot! Well great now I have to find what to wear myself."

At least, thanks to Lexi, I had an idea of what it was I would wear but that's still wasn't much. I rushed all around looking for things to match and ways to fix my hair. In the end I wore some light washed skinny jeans, a green crochet top and some black ballet flats. I tried to get my hair as nice as I could but I'm no expert and just put in a black headband with a bow on it. I had to admit I looked pretty though. I grabbed a hoodie and made my way out the door when I got a message from Lexi.

"Have fun with your lover Neil ;)"

I smiled as I locked the door and made my way to Niall's hotel.


	9. Chapter 9

The weather was pretty good, considering it was London anyway. A good 18 degrees and only slightly cloudy this was a very nice weather. I walked down the streets of London thinking of what I was going to say. Of course I'd seen pictures of him online, on TV, and well just about everywhere, but I hadn't seen him in person for two years. And the entire way to the hotel all that was in my mind was the memory of our last goodbye…

"You better not forget about me when you're big and famous" I told Niall as he packed his suit case. After his X Factor audition he was so excited to pack for boot camp that he practically just shoved all his things into a bag. Now, I was helping him set all his mess into a neat pile and packing that instead.

"Of course I won't forget you! You're my best friend!" he said as he pushed a bunch of clothes into a ball and tried to fit them in.

"Give me that!" I told him laughing. "You're going to wrinkle them! Seriously you expect to become a star when you can't even pack right." I said shaking my head

"I can pack right! I just choose not to" he pouted. Niall always had a problem admitting when he was wrong.

"You're lucky you have me" I joked and took out his clothes to fold them correctly. "I swear your room in the X Factor house is going to be a mess without Maura and I to clean it up for you."

"Yeah…" He said suddenly very quiet. It worried me when he was quiet; he was always so cheerful and fun that times likes this were rare. The way he sounded made me put down the clothes I was folding and focus solely on him.

"Niall, hey, I was kidding! You'll do fine on your own." I said trying to cheer him up.

"Kitty…" he said softly but I stayed quiet waiting for him to finish. "Kitty, do you really think I'll make it to the house? I mean for that I'd have to pass boot camp and then the judge's house and… I don't think I can do that."

"Niall, I-"

"I know what you're going to say," Niall interrupted. "You think that I'll make it but let's be realistic. All the people there are going to be great, some of them getting four yeses and I barely got three…"

"Niall but you are great you were just nervous and with a little more practice you'll be perfect." He didn't look like he believed me so I kept going. "Nerves are a way to keep you grounded when you're famous. You'll do fine. The thing I'm actually worried about isn't whether you'll make it but how you're going to handle not having food with you all the time. I mean you're going have to put it down to practice so-" was all I got out before I was pulled into a hug.

"Thank you" he sighed into my hair as chills ran down my spine. Niall held onto me tighter and I couldn't help but hug him tight too. I knew that this was the last time I was going to see him for a very long time. Everything about him made me shiver. The way he held onto the small of my back with one hand and the back of my head with another… As I rested my head on his shoulder I could hear our breaths syncing up, both slightly shallow. My heart was racing from being so close to him that all I could hope was that he didn't hear it. I lost track of the time while in that hug and I couldn't help but let my mind drift to a place where if Niall knew existed I would have blushed like mad.

"Kitty…" he whispered in my ear and his hot breath was almost enough to make me pass out.

"Yeah?" I whispered back not daring to move a muscle away from him and I heard him give a big sigh

"I-"

"Niall? Mel?" we heard Maura call from the hallway. We quickly pulled apart and made ourselves look busy. Even though this was certainly not the first time we hugged, something about the way we had done it, it made it seem like others shouldn't be allowed to see it. My heart was racing even harder as Niall's mum walked into the room.

"Hi how are you kids doing with the packing?" she asked

"Fine" we both answered simultaneously and much too fast.

"Well Mel," she said not having noticed the speed of our answer, "your mum's waiting for you in the living room. She said to tell you to hurry before she misses her appointment."

"Alright I'll be right there" I told Maura as she walked out of the room

"Well guess this is goodbye" Niall said as he shuffled his feet and looked at me with those deep blue eyes.

"Not if you call me like you said you would" I told him and gave him a quick hug

"I'll miss you"

"I'll miss you too" I said and walked out of the room, looking back at Niall as he watched me go, feeling like I could drown in the deep blue of those eyes

I was so lost in the memory that I almost missed the hotel, which was saying something. It was one of those hotels where it was obvious that celebrities stayed at from time to time. And if the lavish decorations and grand appearance weren't enough of a clue the, what seemed as, thousands of girls outside shouting "One Di-rec-tion" would have been my second. It seemed as though many on them were trying to sneak in through the sides and security was having a bit of trouble controlling them. I went inside and made my way to the front desk to a man who looked a little less than friendly.

"Hi I-"

"Listen girly," he began to say in a bitter tone. "I'm sick of all you girls trying to get in to see that group of guys so unless you are staying in this hotel get out. And right now we're all booked, so… get out."

"I'm here to see… Kole Higgs?" I said as I checked the fake name Niall had told me to give. "He said he'd be in room.. 1993… Really? That boy needs a better imagination." I told myself at his obvious birth year.

"Oh, Oh! Oh yes of course Kole Higgs, right" The rude man said as he realized that I was here because Niall wanted me here. "Here is his room card and I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Yeah, alright" I said knowing he was more sorry to have almost upset a famous boy band member than to have been rude to me. I made my way to the elevator to see a big group of girls outside giving me bad looks. I had a feeling this was what it was going to be like to anywhere near Niall from now on. Well this was going to be interesting…


	10. Chapter 10

*Niall's POV*

"Would you relax she'll get here" the lads kept telling me trying to calm me down but I couldn't calm down. Kitty was coming here, today! I needed to clean; I needed to get myself clean too. What would I wear? What would I say?

"Niall, relax mate, you're going mad over this" Zayn warned me

"Yeah she's just a girl. She's not going to bite." Harry told me with an impish smile on his face.

"Shut it Styles" I warned him as I dug through my clothes for something to wear.

"Whoa there Horan, calm down." Louis said. All of them laughed except for me.

"Alright guys stop. Niall is really stressed about meeting Melody again." Liam said calming everyone down.

For now, thanks to Liam, everyone stopped teasing and helped me instead. Zayn and Harry helped clean up my hotel room, picking up clothes, dishes, and other messes I had left all over. Liam got a lot of different restaurant menus that would deliver so Kitty would be have a choice of what to eat. Louis, he helped me get dressed, and while I usually wear my polo this time Louis gave me a button down shirt and a nicer pair of pants. He was really good at picking out clothes, maybe it was all that time he spent with El.

"Alright well I think you're ready for your date now" Liam said with a smile

"It's not a date guys!" I told them feeling my face get warmer at the thought of a date with Kitty.

"Alright well what do you call it?" Zayn asked

"Just… two friends having lunch." I told them but none of them seemed to believe me. They knew me too well.

"So are you nervous to see what she looks like?" Zayn asked surprising me

"What do you mean?"

"Well she's obviously gonna look different," Liam said

"Yeah it's been two years mate; she's bound to have changed a little" Louis added

"Well I guess I never really thought about it. She's still the same though I just talked to her on the phone last night."

"We mean physically changed. Like maybe she grew taller or… you know" Harry said with a wicked smile and a few hand gestures that made me see exactly what he meant.

"That reminds me… get out" I told them

"What? Why?" Zayn asked

"Because I don't want that kind of thing around when she's here" I replied pointing to Harry who still had his hands in front of him swaying them back and forth.

"What?" he asked innocently but made no attempt to hide what he was really thinking.

"Niall come on we want to meet her" Louis whined

"You've been talking about her nonstop for what seems like forever, the least you could do is introduce us" Zayn told me.

"No," I told them, "now get out. I still have to get mentally prepare and you're not helping."

"Well I'm not going anywhere" "Me neither" "Me neither!" all of them said sitting down on the sofa with their arms crossed and, to my surprise, Liam did too.

"Liam!"

"Niall, I want to meet this girl, so I'm not leaving either" Liam said

"Fine then, you give me no choice!" I told them as I walked towards the door. I opened it and yelled into the hallway. "Paul!" Soon all the boys were up, standing as Paul walked through the front door.

"What is it Niall?" he asked as he studied all of us

"They won't leave!" I told him pointing to the lads

"That's because we wanna see his new girlfriend!" Zayn yelled

"Especially if she's hot" added Harry

"She's not my girlfriend! And you stay away from her Harry" I yelled back as Paul just smiled at us

"You mean the Melody girl you're always talking about?" Paul asked

"Yeah, she's coming over for lunch today and they won't leave" I told him

"We're not leaving!" Louis said and ran into my room with the rest of the lads on his tail. I ran after them and Paul after me. This was how we happened to be wrestling with each other when we heard a knock at the door.

"Let go!" I yelled as Louis and Harry held my legs down and Zayn lay on my back to keep me from getting up

"Quick Paul, get the door!" Harry said as he dodged one of my kicks. I saw Paul walk out of my room and fought harder to get the guys off me. It was hard as all four lads were holding me down trying to keep me from getting to the door in any way that they could.

"Niall relax we're just gonna say hi" Zayn told me but made no moves to get off me

"No, you guys, seriously, get off!" I told them but it was too late because we all heard as Paul opened the door and Kitty's voice began to speak.

"Hi," she said in her usual sweet voice. "Sorry but my name is Melody and I'm looking for Koh… Kole… Ugh forget it. I'm looking for Niall. Is he here?" she asked and I laughed to myself as I heard her struggle with the fake name.

"Yeah, come one in, he and the guys are in his room right now." I heard Paul say and realized that suddenly I felt really light.

"Oh no," I said as I realized the guys weren't in the room anymore. I picked myself up and ran out into the living room but I knew I was too late to stop them when I heard Kitty speak again.

"Oh hi, you guys must be the rest of One Direction right. I'm Melody"

"Oh we know who you are," Louis told her while all Harry said was "Hi" which was a relief as he was always a flirt around girls. As the rest of the guys said their own greetings I took a deep breath before I walked into view.


	11. Chapter 11

I saw all the guys run into view from a little hallway in the back. They all said hello but there were no introductions as I knew who they all were and apparently they knew who I was too. I started to realize right away why Niall would want to be friends with them. They all seemed really fun and friendly the way they pushed each other around and looked at one another.

"Well I'm sure Niall will be happy to know you grew" said Harry Styles as he smiled in a very impish way.

"Umm what do you-" was all I said before I saw Niall tackle him

"I thought I told you not to do that" he screamed at Harry as they wrestled. I was starting to worry a little that they'd hurt each other when the guy who'd answered the door, Paul I think his name was, went over to them.

"Alright guys, come on, break it up" he said as he picked up Niall. It had been a while since I'd seen him, and he did look fitter, but I was pretty sure he still weighed a lot. Especially with those new muscles he'd gotten… I mean his arms…

"Kitty? You there?" Niall said as he waved his hand in front of my face and was really close. So close that I could have easily closed the space between us. Not too far from his lips…

"Is she okay?" I heard someone ask, Liam Payne maybe…

"Huh? Yeah, no, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry I do that sometimes" I told them and went back to looking at Niall. At his eyes. It wasn't hard to get lost in them. Such deep blue…

"Does she do that a lot?" Zayn Malik asked Niall but he just laughed. Even though I'd watched almost all of his interviews, even talked to him on the phone less than 24 hours ago, that laugh was nothing compared to the real thing. And of course that made me smile like an idiot.

"Yeah sorry I have a problem with that. I'm borderline ADD" I told them and they laughed. I had a feeling that they did that a lot.

"I like her" said Louis Tomlinson and, I had to admit, it made me feel a little special

"And Niall does too, right Niall" said Harry and quickly hid behind Liam. At first I hadn't understood why but after seeing how Paul was holding Niall I could only guess that was the reason.

"Weren't you guys leaving?" asked Niall and was it me or did he have a bitter tone to his voice. I doubted it as I'd never really seen Niall get upset over… well anything really. Every once in a while I guess…

"But we were just about to order lunch!" Louis protested which caught me by surprise

"Oh are you guys going to have lunch with us?" I asked

"Well since you asked" Louis said when Niall made his way around Paul and grabbed a handful of his and Harry's shirt

"No she didn't ask," he told them. "And no you're not invited. So leave."

"Mel, help! He's being mean to us!" Harry called to me which took me by surprise that he acted so familiar with me already. Not in a bad way just… surprising

"Out!" Niall said and gave them a final push out the door before closing it and Paul followed them out

"Well it was nice meeting you" said Liam "You should come over for dinner so we can all talk to you"

"Yeah that way Niall won't kick us out" Zayn mumbled as they both walked out of the room leaving me alone with Niall

For a little while both of us were quiet, not knowing what to say I guess. I stared at my feet, at the shoes I had decided to wear. I thought of how my mum had gotten them in an attempt to make me more girly… In reality it's not like I was manly or a tomboy or anything but I never spent too much time on what I looked like. After I met Lexi I focused on it a little more, partly my mother's pushing, and partly Lexi's need to go shopping, but the rest was probably that I was growing up… they were cute though, I especially liked the trim on the side…

"You haven't changed at all" Niall said in between laughs.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused but couldn't stop the smile that covered my face at the sound of that laugh.

"You're still drifting off" he answered and gave me a smile so big it made me blush. Why was I blushing? It's not like he kissed me or anything… And with that thought I blushed even deeper. I bit my lip, out of habit mostly, and looked down.

"If you keep doing that," he told me poking my cheek, making me look up, "we're never gonna get to eat. And I'm hungry"

"When are you not?" I laughed but made my way towards the couch where all the menu-looking papers were. Niall followed after me, sitting to my left, but as soon as he sat down I stood back up.

"What is it?" he asked getting up with me "Do you not like what's there 'cause I can-"

"You are NOT spending this much money on me!" I said as I looked again to see if I had read the price wrong. Nope, that dish definitely had too many numbers. "You know I could probably buy ten times as many pops with the price of this one."

"Relax just pick what you want. My treat" he added and gave me one of his gorgeous smiles as he sat down

"Umm" I said having to straighten out my thoughts after that smile. Darn his Irish charm…

"So it's settled. Now sit here with me and pick something will ya" he said and pulled on the back of my shirt. I guess he'd pulled it with his left arm because I ended up being pulled at an angle that landed me on top of him. I was sitting on his lap…

"Hey Niall can I borrow your-" Harry said as he barged into the room. I hurried to get off of Niall as we both blushed like mad.

"Harry I thought you guys had left!" Niall hissed. I didn't know he could talk to people like that…

"We had but… was I interrupting something?" He asked with a big cheeky smile on his face.

"Out!" Niall said and started to get up when Harry closed the door. "Sorry he gets like that sometimes" Niall apologized as he started getting red. He looked so cute when he blushed… Pink cheeks and those eyes…

"Oh, uh, it's okay don't worry about it" I said after I realized he was waiting for an answer

"It's just…" he started to explain, "I don't usually invite girls over. Well actually I never do, I guess that's why they're so surprised."

"It's okay Niall I understand. I-" A loud slam came and behind me I saw Harry again with Louis and Zayn in front of him.

"Harry you lied to us!" said Louis as Niall started walking to them

"Well they were last time I came in here" he defended himself to what I could only guess was how he had found us last time.

"Seriously get out!" I heard Niall scream as he pushed the boys out of the room and locked the door behind him. "Sorry, Kitty. I really am sorry" he said as he walked back over to the couch.

"Would you stop apologizing, it's fine. Trust me I know what it's like. If Lexi were here she'd probably be doing the same thing. No, no, she would definitely be doing the same thing. In fact, I'm still half expecting here to come through that door." I told him and laughed.

After that the rest of the boys didn't come back in again, although I had a feeling it was more because of the locked door than respect for our privacy. Niall also managed to convince me to buy something from his expensive menus and we ate and laughed like the good old days. Through to the afternoon we talked and joked and I received many messages from Lexi suggesting ways to enjoy my night with "Neil". I was glad Niall didn't see any of them. Niall took the time we had to congratulate me on the birthdays he missed although he had already done that over the phone. He gave a panda phone charm as a gift and said that way I could always remember him. I swear I almost kissed him right then.

Eventually it came time for me to go home, although I really didn't want to. I mean I really, really didn't want to. At the door I gave Niall what felt like both the longest and shortest hug of my life. He offered to call one of his drivers to take me home but I told him I'd rather walk. The truth was I'd seen how those girls looked at me when I had gotten past security and I didn't want to see what would happen if they had proof of our meeting. I hugged him one last time, I couldn't help myself he was too cute, and made my way towards the elevator again, mentally preparing myself for what could possibly happen outside these hotel doors


	12. Chapter 12

I still didn't feel mentally prepared as I crossed the lobby from the elevator to the front desk. I gave the mean guy there the cardkey back and he told me he hoped to see me again which I thought was ironic considering how he was when we had first met. As I strolled out of the hotel I noticed a lot of girls staring at me as I left. I didn't take too much notice of it and kept walking until I heard a lot of whispers. I looked back to see that now every single one of those girls was staring at me. That's when I realized… I was wearing Niall's red snapback… Oh no.

I pretended not to notice as, if I did, it would only bring more attention to it. I could feel their eyes carving holes in the back of my head but I kept on walking. Ugh I should've taken the hat off!

After we had finished lunch Niall and I had talked about a lot of things when the subject of his hats came up. I told him how I thought he owned way too many and he had dragged me over to his closet to see that he did, in fact, have too many. I had told him I liked this red one the best so he put it on my head and I forgot to take it off. I knew how dedicated the One Direction fans were so I was pretty sure they recognized his hat. I should have seriously taken it off.

As I got farther away I felt a little safer but something was still bothering me. Before I could figure out what that was I got a call from Lexi.

"How'd it go with Neil?!" she screamed into the phone as soon as I answered.

"It went fine. We talked for a while… did you know food is a lot more expensive when they give it a fancy name. I mean a lot!"

Lexi just laughed, then said in a very casual tone "Oh I'm at your house by the way."

"Why aren't you ever at your own place?" I asked but didn't really mind. I sometimes forgot that Lexi didn't live with us.

"Because you have better food. Anyway are you almost home?"

"Yeah I'm about halfway there."

"Ooh ill meet you halfway I need a walk anyway. I'll see you in a bit babe" she said and hung up. I had just about forgotten that something had been bothering me when I heard someone call after me.

"Hey you girl! Come here! Hey!" said a girl voice behind me. I turned around to see a girl with bleached blonde hair, an orangey looking fake tan, and dark brown eyes staring at me. She was with another girl, also with the same blonde hair and tan but this one with green eyes. For some reason they reminded me of peaches. Not the princess but more like the fruit. Maybe it was their tan. They both looked pretty mad but all I could do was stare at their short shorts and tight shirts and wonder if they were cold…

"Did you not hear her?! Ashley was talking to you!" said the green eyed one. I guess the other girl's name was Ashley…

"Yeah, I heard you, sorry. I'm in a hurry though so I should go" I told them not knowing why they had called me.

"Oh you hear that Rachel, she has better things to do than talk to us" said Ashley

"I guess she's some big shot then being an we're not important enough for her" said the Rachel girl in a really bitter and sarcastic tone

"I'm not important I just-"

"You're right you're not important at all!" Ashley interrupted me

"Listen I really-"

"Oh so now we have to listen to you?! Please then go on your highness" hissed Rachel at me which I found extremely uncalled for

"Look I don't know what your problem is bu-"

"Oh well why don't we tell you our problem then!" said Ashley

"Our problem is you" said Rachel

"Why? What did I do?" I asked realizing too late I was still wearing the snapback

"You," hissed Ashley "stole my husband's hat!"

"Umm…" was all I could say. Did she really just call Niall her husband? She looked dead serious too

"Don't umm us! You're wearing the evidence right there! Just give Ash her husband's hat back and we'll leave" Rachel told me… Where they serious?

"Well I'm waiting!" said Ashley. Yup, they were serious

"I'm sorry but I'm not giving you my hat" I told them and placed a hand over my head

"Your hat? That's Niall's hat" said Rachel

"No this is my hat. My mum bought it for me last spring on my birthday and I've had it ever since so I'm sorry if this looks like your husband's or whoever's hat but this one is mine." I was genuinely surprised at my own ability to lie like that. Maybe Lexi was rubbing off on me and I'd picked up a thing or two from her. I had to admit that was a pretty good story

"We don't believe you" Well so much for that

"Listen girls I-"

"Give me that hat!" Ashley yelled and dove for my hat… Niall's hat

"Get away from me!" I yelled back as I started walking backwards. Both of them followed me as I rushed home. I was pretty sure something was wrong with these girls… seriously wrong. I was beginning to think that I could lose them when I felt something trip me. It was Rachel's foot

"Let go!" I screamed at them as they both tried to take the hat from me

"Hey!" We all heard somebody scream in a very menacing voice. To my relief I recognized that voice

"What do you want?" yelled Rachel as Ashley kept trying to take the snapback from me

"You have two seconds to get off my girl before I beat the both of you!" Lexi screamed at them. I sighed. This was the kind of time that it really came in handy to have a friend like her

"Please, honey, you-"

"Bitch don't you honey me." Lexi interrupted Rachel. "If you don't let go of her right now I will drag you both by the hair and tear it out from the root. I'll be doing you a favor taking that bleached crap of a mop on your head."

"Oh yeah?! I'd like to see you t- OW!" Ashley yelled as Lexi dragged both her and Rachel away from me by their hair. There were two things I had learned about Lexi very early in our relationship. One was that it was a very bad idea to get her mad. And two, if you did get her mad, run, because she never threatened anything she wasn't willing to do.

"OW! Get off of me you whore!" screamed one of them although I couldn't tell who because all I saw was bleached hair and fake tans between them.

"Lexi let them go" I told her before she went on to the pulling their hair out by the roots part. She let go but didn't move an inch from them, daring them to take a step towards me. Both Rachel and Ashley left and once Lexi made sure they were far enough she came running to me.

"Hey Mel are you okay?" she asked looking really worried. She said she always saw me as her little sister so maybe that was it… "Is that Neil's hat?"

"Huh? Oh yeah he put it on my head while I was there and I forgot to take it off. That's what the girls were after." I told her straightening out the hat

"You were gonna get beaten up for a hat?" she said with humor in her voice

"It's a pretty hat…" I told her but both of us knew that wasn't the reason why

"Come on" she said pulling me up and linking our arms "Let's go home. You can tell me all about Neil and his hat there" she winked at me and we walked back home


	13. Chapter 13

*Niall's POV*

"You haven't seen her for two years and you give her a phone charm?" Zayn said as he sat on the couch.

"It's a panda charm… She loves pandas!" I defended myself as all they were doing was staring at me. I wanted to get her something better but she wouldn't have let me

"I just don't see why you couldn't get her something nice" Lou told me shaking his head as if disappointed.

"Yeah something better like… like that bracelet you got her last time. That one was nice" Harry said and I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. They just didn't know her like I did. She never accepted nice or expensive gifts well. Buying her things was like walking on eggshells. I was closer to her than probably anyone, even the lads, but buying her a present was still one of the hardest things I could ever do in my life.

"Niall! What is this?!" Kitty screamed as soon as she answered the phone. It hurt my ear a bit

"I see you got your present. I'm great thank you for asking" I tried to joke around but I felt as if I could barely speak. I had spent months looking for what I thought would be the perfect present even asked the lads for advice. As soon as I had mailed it though, I had turned into a nervous wreck. I was never affected by anything but waiting for her reaction to my gift I was driving myself mad.

"Sorry I'm glad you're okay but this is too much. This is silver! How much did you spend on this?"

"Don't worry about the price. Do you like it?" I asked hopefully. I had given her a small charm bracelet for Christmas with only one charm, a panda. Since we were little pandas had always been her favorite animal. It had been a while since I had sent it and we were already back on tour but her mom had taken her to her grandparent's in America during Christmas so she hadn't gotten it until then. I had actually hoped she had been home during Christmas visiting her father or at least in London so I could see her but she hadn't. In fact she had even stayed there a couple of extra months and hadn't returned to London until the beginning of March. It was as if we were purposely being kept apart. It was torture…

"Yes, of course, it's beautiful. But you seriously didn't need to get me something this nice. I would've been glad with just a phone call. In fact that is the only present I'm allowing from now on."

"Kitty" I sighed. She was the most amazing girl in the world but she was also the most stubborn. Although I couldn't help but admit that was part of her charm

"Niall, a normal person buys cheap stuff or makes things, not go out of their way to buy me a silver charm bracelet!"

"Silver's not that expensive." I tried to defend myself but if she knew how much I had really spent on her she would be screaming even louder.

"But it's pure silver. Pure Sterling Silver! I may not have a lot of jewelry- alright I have none… well I guess I do have this bracelet now…" she drifted off.

"Damn she's so cute" I whispered and slammed my hand against my mouth when I realized I'd said that out loud. Please don't have heard it, please don't have heard it, I thought to myself

"Huh, did you say something," she asked and I sighed with relief. "Gah, I did it again didn't I? Well anyway just don't do it again alright? You know how I feel about you spending money on me"

"I don't mind. Besides now that I can of course I would want to buy my best friend something. So what if I bought you a silver bracelet I hardly buy you anything anymore. And so what if the panda is made of diamond-" I said slapping my hand to my mouth again. I hope I didn't really just say that out loud. What was it about this girl that made me lose all control over anything that I said…

"Niall…" she said and I braced myself for what was to come. "Niall please tell me you didn't just say diamond…" I said nothing and I heard her give out a heavy sigh

"This charm is made of diamonds?!" she screamed and I had to take my phone away from my ear.

"Kitty I know but it wasn't that expensive I swear!"

"It's diamonds?! You got me diamonds?!"

"Kitty I- Hello? Kitty?"

"Hello?" I heard her say, but it wasn't Kitty

"Oh hi Jenna, where's Kitty?" I asked her mom. It had felt weird at first calling her by her first name but after their divorce I wasn't sure if it'd be best to call her Miss or Mrs. anything so Kitty told me to just call her mom by her first name, Jenna. Kitty always called my mom by her first name anyway and Jenna didn't mind so I called her that from then on

"She was yelling a lot so I took the phone from her. Did you get her diamonds?" she asked but not at all mad. Jenna had always been very similar to Kitty except for the accent and the taste in fashion. I remember Kitty coming over to my house while her mom went shopping 'cause she didn't like it herself. That was the only real big difference between Kitty and Jenna, one liked buying things, the other hated when anyone spent things on her.

"Uh yeah the panda charm on her bracelet has little diamonds on it. I didn't think she would notice but I accidently told her… Is she that mad?" I asked worried that she hadn't taken back the phone already

"Aww that's so cute. Oh and don't worry sugah she just missed your lovely presents is all. Melody!" I heard her say and then there was a thud.

"Hello?" I said a little worried she had hung up

"No! Sorry Niall my mum wouldn't give me back my phone"

"Niall! Come on mate we have to go!" Liam screamed

"You have to go?" Kitty asked sounding disappointed. Definitely one of the cutest sound she ever made

"Yeah we were waiting for an interview at PopStarMagazine so I thought I'd give you a call"

"Busy as ever huh. Well I guess I better let you go."

"Yeah I'll call you later"

"Niall wait!" I heard her yell right before I hung up.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for the bracelet" she said in a very soft voice that made me want to skip this interview, take the next flight to London, and just hug her and never let go

"You're welcome" I said and hung up

For the rest of the interview, and the rest of the day, I couldn't take my mind off of Kitty. I kept getting distracted during the interview and was taken off guard when one of the interviewers asked me if I had a crush on someone. My mind had immediately gone to Kitty but after they said the name of some actress I hardly knew of I just shrugged it off. After that I just went on like any other day; spending time with the lads, joking around, and secretly wishing I was with Kitty. Just a regular day.

"Don't worry about it guys, she loved it" I told them getting back to the present and went to get some food.

"Of course she would if it's from her little Nialler" Zayn said and jumped on me

"Get off!" I yelled at him but just laughed and the lads laughed with me. It was fun being with my mates but it was nothing like being with her… I missed Kitty already…


	14. Chapter 14

Lexi and I sat outside on the swing-set as I told her about my day with Niall. I skipped the part where I was sitting on his lap of course because if I told her that I'd never hear the end of it. Since we had gotten back home I couldn't help but think of Niall's snapback and those girls. A small part of me wondered if it would really be worth it to spend time with Niall when so many girls would probably try to kill me. I heard about the death threats the other band member's girlfriends had gotten and I didn't really think that it'd be easy to deal with. What was I thinking? Niall wasn't even my boyfriend, we were just friends. Just friends.

"You okay?" asked Lexi. "You're looking a little flushed."

"I'm fine…" I said and shook my head fast. "Yeah I'm fine don't worry about it"

"Right…" she said not believing me so I decided to change the subject

"Oh did I tell you? The guys have invited both of us to dinner tomorrow"

"What?!" she screamed jumping out of the swing. "And you waited until now to tell me?!"

"Well I figured that you'd be too distracted after I told you to listen to anything else I said."

"I'm having dinner with One Direction!" she said jumping up and down

"Like right now. You're not listening to me are you?"

"What should I wear? And what shoes? Should I go shopping?"

"Yup not listening" I said and continued to push myself back and forth on the swing-set. My mom had said it was useless to buy one of these cause I'd get too old for them soon but frankly I was pretty sure I would never get sick of this. They were fun, except it rained a lot, and I had a feeling that one day it would rain too much and the mat above it would collapse. Still it was fun out here…

"You!" I heard Lexi scream and looked up. She was staring at me with her hands on her hips. Had I done something? I didn't think so but… "Honey, hey, back to earth."

"Huh? Sorry I- Wait, what are you doing?" Lexi grabbed my hand and practically dragged me into the house. "You're going to dislocate my shoulder!"

Lexi didn't say anything until we got up to my room. I was starting to think this was serious. She threw me on the bed and stood in front of me with her arms crossed. Quiet. Now she had me worried.

"What are you going to wear?" she said still looking serious… she was kidding right?

"You're kidding right?"

"I don't see why I would be kidding. You are going to dinner with Neil! You need to look incredible!" she said very seriously

"… Why do you keep calling him Neil?"

"Don't change the subject!" she said and made her way into my closet.

I just sat there, knowing it'd be pointless to argue with her. Instead I went over to my laptop and played my Cher Lloyd album. She had an amazing voice and wasn't afraid to act weird. I respected that.

"Hey!" I yelled as Lexi spun me around and pressed clothes against me.

"Will you hold still! This is for you and Neil and my future nieces and nephews" she said as she threw those clothes where I had been sitting on the bed and went back to the closet

"Nieces and nephews? What are you planning our wedding already?"

"Of course! That's the maid of honor's job isn't it" she said as she came back in with even more clothes. I tried distracting her, reminding her she needed to pick clothes out for herself, but nothing worked. It's as if she had made it her life's mission to get me to date Niall. Not that I minded…

"What's this?" she asked as she pulled a black bag from the back

"Oh those are some clothes my mom got me for when I go with her to those fancy meetings and stuff. I usually never go so I just leave them there."

"Hey, Mel, do you know where we're going for dinner?" she asked looking very thoughtful

"Um, no, I didn't ask. Why?"

"No reason…" she said as she put the bag down and walked over to me. Before I realized what was happening she pulled my phone out of my pocket and locked herself in my bathroom.

"Lexi! What are you gonna do with that?" I asked feeling worried but got no reply. I heard her talking on the other side of that but couldn't understand a word she said. As hard as I tried all I heard were mumbles and then some shuffling as she walked out of the bathroom.

"I know something you don't know" she said in a singsong manner as she walked over to the black bag of clothes.

"What?" I asked cautiously

"Where we're going to eat."

"Where?"

"I'm not telling you" she said with a smile as she opened up the bag of clothes. "Mother of- How have I not seen these before?" she asked as she pulled out, one by one, the dresses my mother had gotten me.

"Because I never wear them. They're way too… not casual. All I need is a good jumper and jeans and I'm good." I told her picking out a different song from the computer

"Well you are definitely wearing one of these tomorrow night. Now shoes" she said and grabbed what seemed like every pair of shoes I had.

"You're cleaning that up"

"Do you even own any heels?" she said looking through my assortment or flats, converse and other sneakers. I just shrugged and spun around in my desk chair. "You're not helping"

"Never said I was" I told her and continued to spin around. I tried going as fast as I could until everything started to blend together. It always took a while for me to get dizzy so I did that for some time. When I finally stopped I found that Lexi had put everything away, although I had a feeling the inside of my closet was a mess that I was going to have to clean that up later. All that was left was a dress sprawled on the bed with one of my pair of heels on the floor.

"Oh hey you found some"

"Yeah no thanks to you" she said from her seat on the floor

"You seriously want me to wear that?" I said as I looked at the outfit more closely. It was a solid teal color, very fitted, sheath off the shoulder dress. It was thigh length and Lexi had matched it with a pair of suede ankle boots heels that weren't too tall but were still heels. Next to them was a Lottie bag that I forgot I had. It was an incredibly beautiful outfit… just not for me. I frowned.

"Hey you better wear it after what I just went through" she said picking herself up from the ground. "Anyway I'm gonna go now. It's getting late and I still have to pick up my own outfit you know." She winked at me. I walked Lexi to the front door and said goodbye. It was late but not too late that I would get scared for her. Even then Lexi could certainly take care of herself. Her place wasn't too far away anyway. I walked back to my room and put the clothes Lexi had chosen for me on my dresser next to where I had left Niall's snapback.

I picked up his hat for some reason then set it back down and went to change into my pyjamas. Ever since I had heard his voice on my voicemail I couldn't stop thinking about Niall. I thought I had finally gotten over him but I guess I was wrong. Could I be blamed though, really? Niall was funny, sweet, and adorable. If there was such a thing as a perfect guy he was definitely it. But Niall was famous now and could have any girl he wanted. Singers, actresses, models even. It was probably best that we just stay friends.

"Well goodnight" I said to myself and sighed. Hopefully tomorrow wouldn't be so bad.


	15. Chapter 15

*Niall's POV*

"Hurry up, we're gonna be late!" I yelled at the lads as I bounced up and down waiting anxiously at the door.

"Relax Niall we're coming" Liam said as he put on the blazer for his suit. We had changed restaurants yesterday and had to wear suits now. Louis had said I'd thank him but it just made me more nervous somehow.

"Hey is her friend hot?" Harry asked me as he fixed his bowtie

"I don't know I've never met her! Come one mate it looks fine"

"Well she sounded alright" Louis said as he came to join me at the door.

"Can we talk about this in the car?" I asked looking at the clock for the millionth time.

"Relax, we're done, see" Zayn said putting out his arms and walked out the door. We all followed him to the lift

Since we had become so popular we hadn't gone out together to many places. Mostly because of what happened to me and Liam in New York. But after we went to Disneyworld we saw that it wasn't always that crazy. Still, our manager said it wasn't a good idea but the guys helped me convince him to let us. Of course we still had to have security but I didn't think Kitty would mind. She seemed to get along with Paul really well so maybe she'd be okay with it.

"Alright now stop" Louis said and put to hands on my shoulder to keep from bouncing. "You're going to make the lift fall if you keep doing that.

"I can't help it!" I said and the guys laughed. I'd been so nervous since we agreed to see each other again. I didn't think it would be so soon. I wanted to see her but it really made me nervous. She made me nervous. But what made it worse was she got prettier. I didn't think that was possible. She had to be the most beautiful girl in the world…

"Niall!" Liam yelled from outside the lift. "Come on mate or do you not wanna go anymore?"

With that I ran out past the lobby to see the hundreds of girls that were staying out there waiting for us. We signed a few things on our way to the car but my mind wasn't on that. All I could think of was Kitty and what it'd be like to have her act like one of these girls. For her to want to be with me or even talk to me this badly… We finished the signing and went to the car. It was mad out and some girls started following our car but then again they did that a lot. I told our driver how to get to Kitty's. I had been there before to see her but she hadn't been there. Her mom had taken her to America in one of her business trips so I didn't get to see her but I made sure to remember exactly where it was.

"Niall relax she's not gonna get mad at you if we're a little late." Zayn said

"Yeah girls always take a while to get ready and we're not supposed to be there for another few minutes anyway." Harry added. I knew they were right but when it came to Kitty my emotions were always a wreck. I looked out the window trying to calm myself and saw that the weather was clearing up. At least it would be nice out for our date. No not date…

"You okay" asked Zayn and I just sighed and nodded my head

We got to her place a couple of minutes after that and I almost ran to her door. The rest of the lads followed and I knocked. We waited a little while and no answer came. Immediately I lost all composure I had gained in the car and I was left a nervous ball of emotions. I knocked again louder and started bouncing up and down.

"Niall," Liam said putting a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. "It'll be fine just-"

"I'm coming! Stop knocking already!" someone said in very loud voice with an American accent. Not Kitty. It was probably her friend Lexi.

A tall girl opened the door except she wasn't really tall she was just wearing really tall shoes. She reminded me of one of those models the way she stood, impatiently like her time was more important than yours. Her face was friendly enough though and Harry sure seemed to like her.

"Hi are you Lexi?" I asked her

"Course I am! Who else would be here?" she said. She didn't look mad so I didn't think she meant it as an insult but it sure sounded like it

"Be nice!" I heard Kitty yell from inside. I leaned in to look for her but I didn't see anyone else home

"Yeah, yeah" Lexi yelled back. "Oh yeah come on in. Mel's upstairs so sit down and wait"

"Well you're pushy aren't ya" Lou told her and she just laughed

"Just part of what makes me awesome" she told us and flipped her blonde hair as if for emphasize before planting herself on the sofa. Harry of course sat right next to her and started making small talk. They all started talking to each other and I just sat there staring at the stairs. I thought it might be a little rude but all my mind was focused on was Kitty. All of the lads voices mixed in with Lexi's into the background so I didn't hear what they were talking about. I was completely fixated on the steps when I felt something hit me in the face.

"Ow!" I yelled as I held the pillow that had been thrown at me. I looked over to them and all the lads were pointing a finger to Lexi. "What was that for?"

"Don't be a creep. Just wait till she comes down" she said and crossed her legs

"It's rude to throw things at people!" I said and put the pillow behind me

"… So?" she said looking unfazed. I had a feeling this girl lacked the capacity to feel any guilt.

"I told you to be nice" I heard Kitty's voice say and looked up. Kitty stood at the top of the steps looking down at us. She was breathtaking. She was wearing a beautiful green dress that was fitted and showed off her body. As much as I hated to admit it Harry was right, she had grown.

"I was. I used a pillow didn't I" Lexi told her. Kitty laughed as she made her way down which only made her look better. Her hair had a few strands loose in the front but was up in a high ponytail and kept swaying back and forth across her shoulders. She was even wearing heels which made her stand in a way that only highlighted her body even more. I even noticed on her wrist was the old charm bracelet I had gotten her for what seemed like a lifetime ago. Everything about her looked perfect tonight. Just perfect.

"Niall you're drooling mate" Harry whispered to me and I threw the pillow at him

"Niall" said Louis in fake shock

"It's rude to throw things at people!" Lexi said copying what I'd told her earlier. I frowned at her. She stood up and walked over to Kitty ignoring me

"You all look very nice" Kitty told us as she stood not too far away from me. If she was just a little closer…

"And you," Lexi said and pinched Kitty's cheeks, "are gorgeous." Kitty swatted at her hands but laughed. She was so cute

"She sure is right Niall" Harry said as if he'd read my mind and jumped on me. Everyone just laughed and I did too. Although I normally don't find it funny when the boys tease me about Kitty, this time, hearing her laugh too, made me have to join her

"Alright well we better get going before this one changes her mind" Lexi said and started to push Kitty out the door

"Why the hurry?" Zayn asked, which was the first thing he'd said since we'd gotten here. I sometimes forgot he was so shy around new people

"Kitty doesn't like when people spend a lot of money on her" I told them

"Oh is that why you only bought her that cheap phone thing as a present" Lou asked while I glared at him

"I just don't like to burden people." Kitty told them then looked at me, which almost made my heart skip a beat. "And I thought that your present was perfect" she said and pulled out her phone from her bag to show me the panda charm I had given her. I couldn't help but smile like mad

"Alright, we get it, you love each other. Now can we get some food? I'm starving!" Lexi said interrupting any chance we would've had for a romantic moment. Although I didn't think there would be one anyway as the "love each other" part was only one sided. Kitty glared at Lexi and they both made their way to the door. I sighed and followed with the lads just behind me.

"Let me just lock the door" Kitty said as we all waited outside. The lads out of courtesy and me because I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I had always thought that people who looked beautiful like models were boring, to talk to or even look at, but with Kitty, all I could do was stare. She could've easily been on the cover of a magazine and not even need any stylists. She was a natural beauty. "Alright, ready to go?"

"Let's go" I said and took her hand. She looked surprised but didn't pull away. The boys all looked surprised too but just walked to the car like nothing was happening. But something was happening, something massive. I'd made up my mind. I was gonna do what I had been to scare to do since I was a kid. Do what I always thought about while on tour, what I had thought of even while on the X Factor. I was going to make Kitty my girl


	16. Chapter 16

Not long after we left home did we arrive at the restaurant. The whole car ride there Niall had held my hand and I was all butterflies and rainbows inside. Although I couldn't understand why Niall would suddenly want to act this way I was definitely not going to argue. Lexi, of course, stared at me the entire time in the car but I tried to ignore her. It was really hard considering she kept wiggling her eyebrows and puckering her lips at me. I really hoped Niall hadn't seen that. As we got out of the car Niall let go of my hand. I liked it better when he was holding it…

"Ooh good choice" I heard Lexi say

"Well I can see why you didn't tell me we were coming here" I said as I looked up and saw we were in front of one of London's most luxurious restaurants.

"Too late" Lexi said and began to push me forward towards the door as the boys followed

I couldn't help but notice at the people who were staring at us. The guys didn't seem to notice probably because they were used to it. I couldn't even imagine getting so much attention all the time that you would become completely unaware of it. Lexi didn't seem to mind it but I was beginning to feel awkward…

"Are you okay" Niall whispered in my ear as if I wasn't getting enough attention from the girls in the restaurant

"Ye- Yeah I'm fine" I said and bit my lip looking around. There were people taking out their phones. Great…

"Here is your room" said the man escorting us as to a private room for dinner

"Ooh, not bad" Lexi said and sat down before anyone had the time to pull her chair out for her. She never liked people doing things for her.

"Come on" Niall said and put his hands on the small of my back and I made a little noise which I hoped he hadn't heard. He started walking me to a chair next to Lexi where he guessed I wanted to sit.

"Thanks" I said as Niall took my chair out for me then continued to sit next to me. Was it me or was he really close? Not that I minded but it just didn't seem like something Niall would do. Everyone else took their seats and began to look at the menus. Everyone seems to have gotten beer, or wine in Lexi's case, except for Liam and I. Once we all ordered our drinks the waiter left and left us to chat alone.

"So, why the private room?" I asked

"We thought it'd be easier to talk without a lot of people making noise" Harry said

"Yeah this way we can get to know you better" Louis said then went back to reading his menu

We were all silent for a second everyone looking at what to order except for me. I just couldn't get over how close Niall was to me. It felt as if he had purposely scooted his chair close to mine. If I put my arm on the table I was sure his would touch mine. I guess I could do that but I really didn't want to push anything. He might pull his away to give me room. He was an odd boy but he was a real gentleman…

"Do you know what you're going to order" Niall asked me but I hadn't really looked at it much seeing how pricy everything was

"Umm I'm not sure yet… Maybe-"

"Alright so let me get this straight," Lexi said not looking up from her menu. "You guys are paying for everything right. Like, I don't even have to worry about the price or anything. Ow! What? Don't kick me Mel!"

"Yes of course we're paying. We invited you so just pick whatever you want" Liam said

"Alright good" Lexi said and stuck her tongue out at me

"You're a child" I told her and they all laughed to my relief. Although Niall had told me a lot about all of the guys in his band I had still been pretty nervous to meet them all. I knew they were nice but they were celebrities after all. Lexi was never too shy to do anything so I didn't think she'd mind being here but I on the other hand barely slept thinking of tonight. Not only were they extremely famous boy band members but also super cute and Niall's best friends. What if they hadn't liked me, what would Niall have done? All this thinking was giving me a head ache. I sighed and went back to reading the extremely overpriced menu.

"Are you all ready to order?" asked the waiter as he came in to our little room after some time had passed and with him came our drinks. He went around the table and took everyone's order. Finally it was my turn to choose

"Umm, well…" I said as I still couldn't get over the prices I mean seriously how is food this expensive?

"Give me that" Lexi said taking my menu and ordering for me. She knew what I liked so I wasn't as scared of what she ordered as I was at the fact that I didn't know the price. The guy left with our orders and I turn to stare at Lexi. "What? I'm hungry and knowing you, you would've just ordered water."

"…So" I answered not knowing of a better come back and crossed my arms

"So how long have you and Lexi known each other?" Liam asked me

"About two years now, I think. I met her when my mum and I first moved here to London."

"Yeah I moved here for school a couple of months before Mel and her mum moved here so I knew my way around. She had gotten a little lost and I helped her home. From then on we just hung out." Lexi said with a shrug.

And of course Lexi oversimplified everything. The story of how we met was a lot worse than me just getting "a little" lost. I had gotten to London a few days earlier than my mom and was completely bored there. We hadn't set up any kind of internet or cable so I was left to nothing but… well just nothing really. After hours of boredom I finally decided to go for a walk. I had told myself I would only go a couple of blocks away then come right back but that didn't happen. I ended up taking a wrong turn on the way back and got way off the path home. In the end I walked in circles for what seemed like hours until the sun began to set.

After not recognizing anything nearby I ended up at a park and sat down in one of the benches they had. It had been a long day and with the new home, divorce of my parents, loosing Niall, and everything else that had happened recently this just brought it all together.

That's how I ended up in crying in a park bench in front of strangers who walked by. I heard a bunch of noise and looked up to see Lexi, although I didn't know her then, arguing with some guys. She looked really tough considering she was yelling at some really scary looking guys. They eventually stopped arguing, the guys left, and Lexi turned around to see that I had been looking at her. I guess she was still mad over whatever she had been arguing about and started yelling at me too. Only for a little bit though, until she noticed I had been crying. She eventually got me to stop crying and helped me home. The next day she even stopped by to check up on me to make sure I was okay. She can be tough as nails but she can also be the sweetest person on earth…

"Mel!" Lexi yelled in my ear

"Ow! What?!"

"Food's here." She said casually and started eating from the plate in from of her. When had that gotten there?

"Are you okay there Kitty?" Niall asked me looking a little a little worried. Wow his eyes are so blue. So deep and beautiful…

"Ow!" I yelled as Lexi pinched my cheek. It didn't hurt that bad but it wasn't pleasant either. All the guys laughed. She finally let go and slapped my cheek. Well more like patted but it still hurt.

"She's fine." She told him and turned back to me. "Now eat okay?"

"Okay" I said and we all started our meals. Niall of course way ahead of all of us. We made small talk during the meal and I got to know the One Direction boys a little better. They really were great guys. I think Harry liked Lexi too but I don't think she noticed. We kept on eating when my phone started to ring…


	17. Chapter 17

My phone started playing Lego House and I got my phone out of my bag. I had forgotten I had left it on. When I saw who was calling I wasn't surprised. It was my mum.

"It's your mom isn't it?" Lexi said taking a drink from her glass of wine. "Me and Niall are here so that's the only other person who would call you"

"Other people call me!" I told her feeling a little embarrassed for some reason and started fiddling with my phone. I decided to answer my mum before she called the police. "Hi Mum" I said and looked over at Lexi who looked back satisfied with herself

"Honey, are you alright?!" she asked right away sounding frantic

"Mum I'm f-"

"Why didn't you answer?!" she interrupted

"I was-"

"Is everything okay?!" You had me so worried I-"

"Mum!" I screamed trying to get a word in before she had a panic attack. I heard the guys snickering in the background

"Are you alright sugah?" she asked after taking a deep breath

"I'm fine I'm just out at dinner right now so I can't talk"

"Oh did you go to dinner with Lexi how nice" she said avoiding my little hint to hang up

"Yeah mum Lexi's here… actually we came here with Niall and the guys in his band." I said looking down at my plate

"Hi Jenna!" Lexi screamed in my phone covered ear

"Ow!" I said making a face at Lexi

"Hi Lexi, dear!" My mum yelled from the other side of the phone

"Ow! Mum!" I yelled back as the guys all laughed at us, again

"Oh honey you should let me talk to Niall I haven't spoken to him in such a long time!"

"Mum I don't think now is a good time" I said dreading what she might tell him. She would probably gush over our childhood or have an hour long conversation with him. She might even try to convince him this was a date. I was starting to think I should've gotten a drink more like Lexi's. Some wine could've helped right now…

"Oh just give him the phone will you dear!"

"Fine" I said to my mum then handed Niall the phone without even looking at him.

"Hello?" I heard Niall say into my phone. "Hi Jenna… Yes I'm fine thank you and you… Yeah it's lucky right… It's too bad last time you both went… Ye- Yeah I still do…" He said sounding a little shy and looked over at me. Was he talking about me? I wonder what he was saying…

"Maybe he'll ask for your hand in marriage" Lexi whispered in my ear copying my mum's accent. I freaked out that Niall might've heard since he was so close so I had quickly turned around and put my hands over her mouth. Harry, who was sitting next to Lexi, started laughing very loudly and I really hoped it was about my hands over her mouth and not him having overheard her.

"Yes of course you should" I heard Niall say to my mum. What were they talking about? It wasn't weird that they talked, our families were really close after all, I was just worried she would say too much…

"Ew!" I yelled and wiped my hands on the bottom of my dress. "Did you just lick me?!"

"You know I hate when you do that. What did you expect?" Lexi said wiping the corners of her mouth on a napkin. Next to her Harry was still laughing and the other three boys joined in, Niall still on the phone with my mum.

"Yes we are… Well when you get back I'm sure we could all go somewhere…" Niall said looking over at me again

"Niall, can I talk to my mum now?" I asked him holding out my hand for the phone.

"Yeah, um Jenna, Kitty wants to talk to you… Yeah… I don't know…Um I don't think so… Actually I-"

"Mum!" I said after taking the phone from Niall. Our hands slightly touched and I forgot what I was going to tell her.

"Oh, hi dear. Where did Niall go?"

"I took my phone back. Mum I'll call you later we're still not done with dinner."

"Oh I'm so sorry dear I'm interrupting your little date aren't I"

"Mum! It's not… that… it's just… I'll call you later okay" Ugh why was she making this so hard

"Fine, fine, my lunch is almost over anyway I just wanted to make sure you were alright dear. Well, have fun on your date with Niall, darling. Goodbye" she said and hung up right away. My guess was so I wouldn't yell again.

"Oh did Jenna hang up?" Lexi asked as I put my phone away

"Yeah she said her lunch was almost over" I said going back to finishing my food but knowing by the look she gave me that she heard what my mum had just said. If she did then maybe Niall had too…

"What's wrong Mel? You're looking a little red there" Lexi said with a wicked smile on her face. And that of course made me blush more. I gave her a look of mixed pleading and rage which she of course ignored.

"You do look a little red." Harry joined in which didn't help

"I'm fine!" I said and looked down trying to avoid the looks from not only Lexi and Harry but the rest of the lads too. Was it that obvious how I felt about Niall?

"Well we're all done with our meals so why don't we just go home" Niall said also looking down which I found weird. But if we all went home maybe Lexi would leave me alone or at least I could ignore her calls, something like that.

"No we're having fun" Zayn said. That's just not okay! He hasn't talked much through the night and when he does it only makes things worse. At least for me, everyone else seemed to like his comment. Thanks Zayn.

"Yeah besides I want desert" Lexi said with that same smile on her face

"But if we go home now I'll have time to make you a cake" I said and watched her face light up. I have always been cooking, since I was young, and whatever I made was usually really good. I think that's part of why Niall spent so much time at my house during our childhood.

"Okay! Let's go then! Now!" Lexi said already getting up from her seat

"Wait you're making a cake?" Niall said, his eyes lighting up so bright that I got lost in them… Again… It's impossible for them to be anymore gorgeous…

"Come on! I want my cake!" Lexi said pulling me from my chair

After much pulling and tugging from Lexi the boys not only paid the bill but invited themselves to my house for some cake. We all piled back into the car stopping once at Tesco just so we had all the necessary ingredients. After getting flour, milk, frosting and all the other things that were needed we all piled back into the car. There were a few girls that recognized the boys and tried to get in with us. Unfortunately for them Lexi was here and she almost kicked them. She would have if I hadn't pulled her back at the last minute.

We managed to get home without anyone getting hurt. We all got out of the car and I opened the door. Inside the boys helped me put the stuff in the kitchen and then we all went back to the living room. I told them to make themselves comfortable while I made the cake, which they did with ease. They were very carefree lads who didn't seem to care they weren't in their own home. Can't say I minded though

"Do you need some help?" Niall asked as I started taking all the things out of the bag. He leaned against the wall in front of me and I swear my heart skipped a beat. Could he be anymore gorgeous?

"Um actually I just took all the things out of the bags so-"

"I meant with making the cake. I haven't made one in a while but I did help you a couple of times when we were kids" he said with a smile

"Okay, just don't eat all the batter this time" I said remembering all those times he "helped" when all he really did was stand there and watch me make the batter and try to put his finger in the mix. We both laughed at the memory and I did everything in my power not to think of the fact that this was only temporary and that Niall would eventually leave me again. He was after all a big celebrity. But now, looking into his deep blue eyes all those thoughts disappeared and I was just happy to be with him getting ready to make a cake. "Alright well let's get stared"


	18. Chapter 18

"Stop eating the batter!" I yelled as Niall once again tried to stick his hand in the mix. He'd already eaten so much of it that I had to keep making more. This was the third time I had to add things and it was taking a lot longer than it should. I couldn't help but laugh though "And you're spilling it everywhere too! Niall! You know I'm starting to remember why I stopped inviting you over for tea"

"But it's delicious!" Niall said, as if that excused his behavior. Or, at least that's what I think he said. His mouth was full of my cake batter so I wasn't too sure what he was saying. He looked really cute though with his cheeks all puffed out and that cheeky smile on those perfect lips….

"Nope, not gonna start thinking of that this time" I wasn't supposed to have said that out loud

"Thinking of what?" Niall asked licking the remaining batter off his fingers

"N-nothing. Just thinking out loud… Oh look the oven's ready" I said as a distraction. Niall seemed a little suspicious, or rather curious, about what I had been thinking but he let it go to my relief. He helped me get the batter into the cake molds and into the oven.

"How long does all this take again? I want cake now!" He whined like a little kid but stepped back away from the oven. I was starting to think he was doing this not because he actually thought this but rather to just be cute. He was already cute so that didn't seem right…

"Kitty!" Niall yelled as I slipped in some of the batter on the floor while in my daze.

I closed my eyes and braced myself. I felt pressure against my side but it didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would have. Or it should have if my memory was correct. I wasn't the most coordinated person and had slipped and fallen once before… okay more than once, and I remember it hurting a lot more than it did now. I opened my eyes to see what had lessened the pain and what I saw made me blush.

As I lay there I realized that the floor hadn't hurt me because I hadn't hit the floor at all. Under me, instead of the hardwood I had been expecting was Niall looking up at me. He was flat on the ground but when he saw me turn to him he used the hand he had been rubbing his head with to sit up. And that's when I noticed where his other hand was; on my waist.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worry written all over his big blue eyes

"Yeah…" was all I managed to say. This was a bit overwhelming for me. Not only had Niall practically thrown himself on the floor so I wouldn't be hurt but he was extremely close to me. He was holding me very firmly as if worried that if I got out of his grip I'd hurt myself again. And I was literally on top of him right now. So close that I could feel his chest rise and fall under me. His heart audible too, or maybe my heart was beating so loud that I thought it was two. He was so close, our faces only a foot away, and getting closer…

And of course this was when Lexi, Harry and the rest of the boys decided to make an entrance.

"So is this what you do when I'm not around?" Lexi asked as Niall and I lifted ourselves from the ground in a rush. "We just wanted to know how much longer the cake was gonna be"

"But we can go if you want. Leave you two alone. All you have to do is ask" Harry said staring at Niall the entire time. They kept making faces at each other so I guessed they were having some kind of silent conversation. Unfortunately for me Lexi's conversations were never silent.

"Wow Niall your back is really dirty! How long were you two rolling around on the floor? You'd think you would take your blazer off at least but hey to each their own. Also you two-"

"Come on" I said placing my hand over Lexi's mouth and dragged her out of the room. She didn't fight me there but I was sure if I'd let her she would have stood there and embarrassed me for hours.

"What?" she said as soon as I let her go

"Stop saying things like that!" I said extremely embarrassed as I could hear the boys laughing in the kitchen. All but one that is

"Oh what like I'm the one who pushed you on top of him and made you stay there for a while before you got up. Admit it you were comfortable."

"…Shut up" was all I said as I sat on my couch as Lexi smiled triumphantly

"I just don't see why you don't just ask him out. It's not that hard"

"Because… It's more complicated than that okay Lexi"

"Why though?" She asked catching my attention. She came closer and whispered, so the boys wouldn't hear us, for my sake I guessed. She looked serious which I found strange so I listened in more closely. "Mel, let me explain it to you this way. You like him. You want to date him. You can't date him unless one of you asks out the other. You don't want to ask him out yourself so it'd be up to him. He can't ask you out because you take every chance you get to make him think you don't like him like that. Long story short, if you don't ask him yourself or tell him you like him you two will never be together"

She stayed quiet letting that sink in, and it was sinking like a rock. I never really thought about it that way, but she was right. I needed to tell Niall how I felt but that was easier said than done. Niall had always been the guy I wanted, even when I had dated other guys. Eventually we ended up breaking up because I didn't think it was fair to the guy that I thought about Niall so much. It truly wasn't fair

"Well this isn't fair"

"Life isn't fair, Sweety" She patted my leg and stood up and started walking towards the kitchen.

I heard Lexi's heels as they slowly became quieter until they got to the kitchen. I didn't really feel like going back in there yet. The cake still had to cook for another while and I wanted to think some more. What Lexi had said had really struck a nerve. It was painful to think of it that way but she was right, if I wanted Niall I had to tell him how I felt.

But what if he found it awkward to be around me because he didn't feel the same and decided not to be with me anymore. As much as I wanted to be with Niall there was always that possibility of us not making it. And as much as I would love to call Niall mine, even if only for a while, I would much rather have him as my best friend than the guy I once dated. I let out a deep sigh and rested my head against the armrest.

"You okay?" Niall asked and sat down next to me. He wasn't exactly close but it still sent a chill down my spine. I didn't lift my head but just nodded. As sure as I was that I didn't want to lose Niall I was also sure that every time I heard his voice it made me melt and that feeling was not going away anytime soon.

"I'm sorry" he said in a soft voice that made me look up. This time he was looking down, at his feet, almost as if he were ashamed

"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault that I'm a klutz"

"No you're right only you would find and trip on the one spot in the whole kitchen that was slippery. But I'm the one that got them dirty in the first place" Niall said turning to me

"I spilt some things too you know you don't have to blame yourself. And even if you did make all the mess I wouldn't have fallen if I had just been paying attention. And besides I wasn't even hurt, I should be thanking you rather than you apologizing"

"You're the best" he said and hugged me. It wasn't as if he'd never touched me before, the incident in the kitchen is witness to that, but I still felt unprepared for this.

I didn't really know what else to say so I just hugged him back. We stayed there for a little while, probably longer than we should have, but it felt… right. He had always been there for me and I knew he always would be. I also thought of what Lexi had said. I wanted more than anything to be with Niall, and this is how I'd always pictured us. But it wasn't right.

"Hey Mel, I think your cake is done" I heard her call from the kitchen

Niall let go of me and stood up holding out his hand for me.

"Coming" I replied but didn't move. I just stood there and stared at Niall. He was so perfect, everything I had ever wanted in a guy, yet I knew then, I wouldn't tell him how I felt. It wasn't because I was shy but rather afraid. I had almost forgotten how much fun I had with Niall and how much I cared about him and I didn't want to lose that, he was too special.

I always thought people who didn't go out with someone because they didn't want to "hurt their friendship" were just trying to think of an excuse to say no but they were right. I loved Niall too much and I would much rather stay friends with him than have us date for some time and never speak to each other again. I'd decided, no matter what, I wasn't going to date Niall.


	19. Chapter 19

*Niall's POV*

After she went back into the kitchen Kitty started acting… different. She started acting sort of distant. I asked her several times if she needed help but she always said she was fine. All by herself she did the baking and frosting, the decorating too. I know I wouldn't have been too good at all that but I would've loved to help. She'd never done this before. It was worrying me a lot.

After a little while of waiting I realized she wouldn't have let me do anything so I went in the living room with Lexi and the boys. They all seemed to be confused by my being there. I stayed quiet and they didn't say anything either, except Lexi who excused herself and went into the kitchen. We just stayed like that for a while, quiet. I knew the boys were dying to ask me what was happening but it was pretty obvious that I didn't know either.

"Niall?" Liam began to ask but he was interrupted by Lexi's sudden reappearance

She sat close to me and looked really mad. In all honesty it was a little scary.

"What did you do?!" she hissed at me. It was really quiet but not at all soft. Again, I was scared

"What did I do?" I asked wondering what I could have done to make her act like this. In what I had seen of Lexi she was blunt but pretty nice so for her to act like this was surprising.

"I don't know! You're the one that did it so answer me! What. Did. You. Do?" she asked but I didn't know how to answer

"Lexi, what's wrong?" Harry asked. I looked over and saw all the boys were just as confused as I was.

"I just said I don't know!" she almost screamed at him then looked to the kitchen. I think she didn't want Kitty to hear our conversation and why she was hissing instead of yelling.

"Look, ever since she went back into the kitchen she's been acting weird. And who was there right before she started acting weird? That's right, you. So either you tell me what you did or said to her or I'll beat you till you do!"

"I-I don't know!" She was small and little and somehow I was still really afraid of her.

"Lexi!" we heard Kitty call from the kitchen and all of us went silent

"Yes Sweety?" Lexi said in a sweet tone but her face was as fierce as ever

"Could you come help me put the stuff away?"

"Sure" she said and gave me a look right before leaving. I was so confused.

This was all getting very confusing and the lads did their best to distract me from Kitty. I don't think they realized how hard that was going to be considering we were at her place. They did their best but it wasn't enough. After a little while of chatter I went into the kitchen to see if I could help with anything. Or see if I could find out what was happening. I was about to enter the kitchen when I heard Kitty and Lexi's hushed voices.

"How many times do I have to tell you Lexi it is not that simple!" I heard Kitty say

"It doesn't have to be as complicated as you're making it! Just go and-"

"I'm not you! I can't just do things, Lexi! I overthink things, I think of the worst possible scenario and it makes it so I can't do whatever I want like you!" I was surprised to hear Kitty's voice like this and obviously Lexi was too. Whatever they were talking about it must have been really bothering her.

"…I just want you to be happy is all. And I know this would make you very happy."

"I know. I'll be okay though I just… I just want to wait a while before I think about it again" I was too busy thinking about what could be bothering Kitty that I didn't see when she turned the corner and faced me.

"Niall?!" she said surprised to find me there while Lexi behind her had a mix of surprise, worry and anger on her face.

"Yeah, hi, I wanted to see if you needed help in the kitchen" I said a little distracted about the way Lexi was staring at me. I don't understand how she could possibly be that scary

"Umm, yeah, sure. Lexi why don't you go tell the rest of the boys to wait at the table and Niall and I will serve the cake" she said looking at Lexi the entire time. It was killing me that she wouldn't look at me. Lexi left us and Kitty just walked back into the kitchen not making another sound. I followed her as closely as I could without upsetting her any more than I had obviously already had

"Kitty…" I started to say but couldn't find the right words to say what I felt and explain how hard this was for me

"Niall… How much of that did you hear?" she still wasn't looking at me

"Kitty are you okay? If I did something tell me please I-"

"Niall… How much did you hear?" she interrupted

"Nothing… I heard you two talking about Lexi wanting you to do something but I didn't hear what it was and-"

"Do you promise" she said in an adorably quiet voice. Was she blushing?

"I promise" I said and got closer. "I didn't hear what it is that's bothering you but if I can help please tell me. I hate seeing you like this"

I took a few steps towards her, only about a foot away now, so close and all I wanted to do was hold her. But I didn't. Whatever was wrong I knew I had something to do with it and until I could make it better I didn't have the right to be with her. She looked up at me and it took everything in me not to hug her. She looked so sad and confused… I could not be the cause of this could I?

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just being moody is all. Stop looking at me like that I'm fine I promise I am really" she kept saying that but I still didn't believe her. Although, I did feel a little better now. If it was something really bad I knew she would tell me. I hoped that I could make her feel better but maybe she just needs to do this on her own.

"Okay"

"Now let's get the cake to the dining room" she said with a smile but she couldn't fool me. I have been with her since we were kids and this was not the happy girl I knew. Not MY Kitty. We brought the cake out and everyone was waiting for us. All of us sat around and passed pieces of Kitty's delicious cake around. Everything she touched was perfection.

Everyone complimented her on it including me, although it was between mouthfuls. We all talked about random things, chatting, it seemed as though everyone could sense something was wrong but no one wanted to talk about it. I'm sure later I would have to speak to the boys about this but not now, not in front of her.

Once we were all full of cake and milk we called our driver to tell him we were ready to go. It wouldn't take that long for him to get there so we all started walking towards the door. The boys were already at the door when Kitty said she wanted to give us a piece of the cake to take. I walked with her to the dining room when she decided to go into the kitchen with it and wrap it there. This left me alone in the dining room… with Lexi

"How much did you hear?" she asked and it took me a moment to realize what she was talking about

"Just that you wanted her to do something and she didn't want to. But that's it" I said thinking back at Kitty's face when we had talk about this

"Okay, good"

"Lexi, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot" her voice was monotone

"Listen, I really care about Kitty and I don't like seeing her like this. I don't know what's wrong but you obviously do so please tell me, is it something I could help with?" I asked and realized how desperate I sounded. But that couldn't be helped it being about her…

"Well, maybe, but to say how I'd have to tell you what's wrong and I can't do that unless Mel says it's okay"

"Oh" this was beginning to turn very complicated and it was making my head hurt

"I know you do care about her but all I can say is that this is something she can only take care of herself. Even before she could ask you for anything she'd have to make the decision to tell you. Either way, really, this is all up to her"

I stayed quiet for a while, looking at where Kitty's cake had been. I thought of all the memories and all the good times we shared. Even the little moments of us having tea together. To think that it could all possibly be over without even so much of a warning made me sick. So sick that I wasn't even hungry, which was saying something.

"Here you go" Kitty said with a smile as she exited the kitchen

"Thanks" I said and took it from her. They both walked me to the door where the rest of the lads were and we all said our goodbyes.

In the car I just stared at the cake. How could something so delicious and filled with so many wonderful memories cause me so much pain now? Even with all the good it had just that memory, that one memory of Kitty's sad face as we talked in the kitchen, was enough to upset not only me but my stomach.

We finally got back to our hotel and all the fans outside started cheering like mad. It still surprised me how wonderful and dedicated they all were but I just didn't feel like standing outside with them at the moment. I did take some pictures and signed a few things but my heart wasn't into it and I knew that they knew that too.

When we got upstairs I explained all I knew to the boys, although it wasn't much, and they all sympathized with me. They were all amazing and tried to cheer me up, or distract me from her, but I had enough of a problem getting her out of my head before and all this wasn't helping. The lads eventually all went to their own rooms and wished me goodnight. I might have been confused about a lot of things but I was sure I wasn't going to be getting much sleep. Not only had today been very stressful but I had discovered something. Something that should've been obvious a long time ago…

I loved her. I loved Kitty. I realized that now and I'm surprised it'd taken me this long to figure it out. All I ever thought about was her, even on tour. It was always, what was she doing now? Or how she would feel about this? I was an idiot. How could I have not realized it earlier? I loved her. But not only did I love her, I was IN love with her. This explained everything and why just the thought of her unhappy made me want to do everything possible to bring that smile back to her face. And why I would try my hardest to help her in whatever way I could. I needed to and was going to somehow make her happy again. I was not going to be the cause of her shedding a tear…


	20. Chapter 20

After the boys left, Lexi and I had a long talk. She kept trying to convince me to tell Niall how I felt but I just couldn't make myself believe that it was the right choice. There were too many risks and while I knew she was trying to help it was just giving me a headache. Eventually, Lexi gave up and left me to think about this on my own. She was working the morning shift again tomorrow and needed some rest anyway. I was now alone.

That was okay though. I liked being alone with my thoughts now and then. It made me be able to think more clearly without having to worry about others' opinions. It was a selfish method but it worked for me. I still had the headache from earlier that night so I decided to get my headphones and play a little rock music. For some reason loud songs like that helped my calm down because yes I was that weird. I took a few deep breaths and let my mind wonder, hoping for sleep. It never came.

As I drowned myself in the sounds of The Black Parade I couldn't help but start imagining a place where Niall and I could be together. That was a mistake. I had always been afraid of my own mind as it always took me to places I'd rather not visit. I was always taken to the worst case scenarios and convinced that they could easily become reality. If what my mind made me think was true then being with Niall was the worst thing I could do. It would destroy our bond forever…

I hate you, I thought to my own brain as I took my headphones off. I changed into my pyjamas laughing slightly when I saw the clothes I had let Lexi dress me in. For a second during the night I could've sworn Niall was staring at me. But that just influenced me to see a doctor about my overactive imagination…

"I really need some sleep now." One look at the clock on my nightstand told me that I was right. It was late into the night now, could practically be considered morning, and it was not doing me any favors to stay up this late. But before I could even get into bed I heard my phone start ringing. I walked over to it, curious to see who would call me at this hour. It was my mum's number on the display. "Hello?"

"Oh," I surprised her. "Oh, hi dear. I thought I was going to get your voicemail. What are you doing up this late?"

"I couldn't sleep…"

"How is Lexi? Are you two having another sleepover?"

"Uh, no. It's just me…" I should've probably tried to hide my obvious depression but I was simply too tired for that. Both physically and mentally.

"Are you okay sugah?"

"Yeah I'm fine"

"Oh no. What's wrong?" She sounded worried

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine"

"No you're not. You always say you're fine when you're not fine. Now, what's wrong?" I sighed. I always forgot that unlike me, my mum never got distracted or missed the slightest signals.

"I was just thinking of someone is all…"

"Is this about Niall?

"…And our relationship, yeah." I could never lie to my mum

"What about it dear?"

"Well things are getting… complicated. I don't know what to do anymore"

"Is this about your liking him?" she said very blatantly. i just hoped no one was with her

"Yeah…"

"Well why don't you just tell him?"

"Because it's not that simple! Why don't you understand that?" I cried aggravated. Why did everyone keep saying it so causally? If it were that simple I would've done it already.

"Because it is that simple," she said either not noticing my outburst or not caring. "Just tell him, so what?"

"So what if something bad happens?"

"Like what?"

"Like what if we end up in a bad terms? I'd rather have my friend… I don't want to have a big fall out and not talk to him anymore. He means too much to me…"

"Well, if he means so much to you then why can't you tell him you like him?" She still didn't understand. Why was it so hard to get people to see my side of this?

"Because! What if he doesn't feel the same way? That'd be awkward! And what if he does and we start dating but get in a fight, break up, and never to speak to each other again!"

"…What if you have a happy ending?"

I laughed but there was no humor behind it.

"There are no such things as happy ending"

"Yes there are. I have one"

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "I'm sure you always dreamed of marrying someone, moving to another country, across an ocean, just for them, and then getting a divorce. Sounds wonderful." I paused at what I said. It wasn't my mum's fault that I was dealing with this and I shouldn't be taking this out on her.

"It may not be the ideal Fairy Tale but I'm happy. Are you?" She didn't sound mad, she still sounded worried. This made me feel worse

"No, not with Niall… Not with how things are"

"Besides," she said lightheartedly, "sometimes things are worth the risk. Because of what I went through I have you. Don't you think he's worth the risk?"

"Yeah but- but…" I couldn't finish my sentence but I didn't think I wanted to hear the end of it. I sniffled and realized I had started crying somewhere in the conversation. I wiped my face of the tears.

"Listen Melody," she said softly, as if noticing I had been crying too. "I'm not going to tell you how to live your life; that is a decision for you to make. But honey, you know that if you think that there may be a possibility you can have a happy ending it would be worth the risk. Right?" I couldn't answer right away but she waited patiently.

"…I'll think about it." I heard her sigh on the other line

"Okay. Well goodnight dear. I had called to see how you were doing anyway. Just think about it, okay? Do what you believe is best. If this keeps making you sad then why not try something else?"

"Goodnight Mum" I said and hung up. I threw myself onto my bed and fell asleep before my mind could wonder off to a place I didn't want to visit.

"Mel, are you alright?" Lexi asked as soon as I opened the door. I had called her in the morning asking if she could come over after her shift. She kept wanting to leave early to come over but I couldn't let her do that.

"I'm fine! It's not like I got in a car accident or anything"

"Well emotional pain can be just as bad" she insisted and walked over towards the couch. She patted the seat next to her signaling me to sit too. I did. "So what happened? Why the sudden change of heart? Did you finally snap from all the bottled up love?"

"No!" I snapped pushing her hands which had made their way onto my shoulders. "My mum called last night. We had a little talk…"

"Leave it to Jenna to do the impossible" she said with an admiring nod that made me smile a little

"Yeah… my mum is special… Now I need your help to actually do it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Well how exactly would I go about doing it?" She didn't look like she understood

"I don't understand"

"Well, should I call him? Should I invite him over and then tell him? Should we be alone or… no yeah we should be alone. It'd be embarrassing if we weren't alone… But then… then we'd be alone… And what if-"

"Alright , alright, I get your point. You're paranoid." I normally found that sort of thing insulting but this time I just nodded. I think I was paranoid. "I think you should tell him in person; this isn't the kind of thing you can handle with a phone call."

"Okay when should I call him?"

"The sooner the better I think. Like now for example"

"Now?! You can't be serious I-" But unluckily for me she had already reached for my cell phone and stated dialing.

"Don't hang up" she warned putting the phone to my ear. "If you don't do it now you'll wait too long and it will be too late. Now, take it."

I nodded and placed my hand on the phone but I could feel myself shaking from fear. I hated the way that Irish boy made me act sometimes. The more it rang the more nervous I became. I was close to the point of hyperventilating when someone finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Um, hi Louis, it's Mel. Is it alright if I talk to Niall real quick?"

"Yeah, sure" he said kind of hastily and I heard shuffling as he passed the phone over to Niall

"Hey Kitty are you okay?" I sighed. It bothered me that everyone kept asking me that.

"Yeah I'm fine. Listen, Niall… We need to talk"


	21. Chapter 21

*Niall's POV*

I hung up the phone and stared at it for a little while. Kitty hadn't said what she wanted to talk about but she hadn't sounded very enthusiastic. My guess was she didn't really want to talk. I made my back to the guys who were all waiting for me in the living room.

"How'd it go?" Louis asked when I gave him back his phone

"I'm not sure" I said genuinely confused.

"What did she say?" Harry asked

"That she wanted to talk…"

Kitty hadn't really said much besides that. She had sounded strange over the phone but then again she had been acting strange most of yesterday too. We set our meeting for a few days from now so we could talk. Hopefully that would clear up whatever was worrying her. It was worrying me too. Kitty wasn't the type to take things so seriously but she had been over the phone.

I worried and kept worrying until the day came that I meet her. The lads had to remind me several times to calm down. But it wasn't that easy. I had decided to go alone to talk to Kitty. Harry and Zayn had wanted to hide out in the car in case I needed anything but I was sure they just wanted to pretend to be spies. It did sound like fun but I told them no. She had wanted to have a talk, just the two of us. Alone…

When my driver stopped in front of Kitty's house she was waiting with the door open and a distant look on her face. She snapped back when she heard the car door slam and I rushed inside before anyone could see us. She closed the door and turned back to me.

She was wearing some baggy gray sweats, an oversized Guns N' Roses t-shirt and mismatched socks. Her hair was in a very messy bun at the top of her head with several strands coming down, out of place. It was so messy and so lazy that her mum would have flipped to see her like this in front of guests. And yet she looked beautiful. I loved how even with something that was nowhere near fitted she was breathtaking.

"Hey" she said with a small and slightly nervous looking smile

"Hi…"

"Umm, do you want something to eat?"

"Yeah, I'd love to"

We went into her kitchen and she served us some of her left overs. They were delicious of course. Since Jenna used to be a chef she knew how to cook well and had passed on her skills to Kitty. I had always loved going to visit their house as the place always smelled of something wonderful. She fed us desert too. I take it she was trying to stall from whatever she had called me here for. If it were to have been something simple she would've just said it over the phone. She was doing a good job of distracting me though; I was too busy eating to say anything. But I was still worried for her and she was scaring me.

Once we finished she asked me to wait in the living room while she cleaned up the table. I did. I went to the living room and sat on her couch. My mind began to wonder and I stared at my feet until she walked into the room. I had spaced out. She was rubbing off on me.

"Done?" I asked her

"Yeah" she sighed and sat next to me. She sat farther than I would've liked and it made me a little sad. We were quiet. Neither of us had anything to say I guess. She was reluctant to tell me what she wanted to tell me and I had no idea of what to tell her. Finally she gave a big sigh. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry for what?"

"I wanted to tell you… I wanted to say – But I can't – I just – Ugh!" She put her face in her hands sounding exhausted. I scoot closer to her, careful not to get too close.

"Are you okay, Kitty?"

"No… Not yet at least." She looked up at me. Her face was tired and she had a sad look in her eyes. I didn't like seeing her like this. I scooted even closer to her and and put my arm around her. She went a little stiff at first but relaxed and rested her head on my shoulder. I put my head on hers.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanted to tell you something" she said, not going on.

"What?"

"Not now…" She hugged me around my waist. She was so close I could hear both our hearts beating. They were almost in sync. Both were beating fast and loud but probably for different reasons. It was my turn to sigh. We heard a phone ring and Kitty reached for it, leaving my grasp.

"Darn it, Lexi!" she exclaimed under her breath. She had gotten a text from her. I smiled as she pursed her lips and typed quickly to reply.

"What did she do now?" She looked up again and smiled a little

"She just reminded me that I have to tell you something"

"If you don't want to we can talk some other day…" I said holding my arms out hoping she would go back to where she had been. She smiled again and rested her head on my shoulder but didn't hug me. I could wait. And as long as I got to be with her like this I didn't care how long I had to wait. I didn't like seeing her worried or sad I just wanted to hold her in my arms and never let her go. Unfortunately she had other plans. She sat up fast and faced me, moving farther away on the couch.

"No, no, I should get this out now or I never will… I need to talk to you about us and… and our relationship." She went quiet at the last word

"Okay…" I said and went quiet too. Could she… could she possibly like me too? I held my breath hoping that was the reason she had called me. That maybe, finally, I would get to be with Kitty as I have wanted to be for so many years.

"Alright… What I wanted to say…." She sighed. But before she could go on the door rang.

"I'll be right back" she said looking a tad relieved and walked towards the door. I sat quietly as her footsteps made their way across the ground; her socks swished against the hardwood floors. I took a second to look around the room. This place reminded me of their home back in Mullingar. I smiled

I heard the door open and a guy's voice speaking to her. My smile faded. Quickly, I looked over to see Kitty leaning against the threshold blocking my sight. But I didn't need to see the figure outside to know who it was, I recognized the voice. That voice that I had learned to hate. It was annoyingly endearing to her just as it had always been. It sickened me

"Hi, Kitty" he said and I caught a hint of his smile as he leaned towards her.

"Cody?"


	22. Chapter 22

"Oh my gosh, Cody!" I screamed and jumped into his arms. He laughed a little and hugged me back. Cody Hayes was one of my closest childhood friends. He also happened to be one of the longest crushes I ever had, besides Niall. "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for a flat," he said as I let go of him. He was still smiling. "I'm moving to London soon"

"Really?" I said a little more excited than I should be.

"Yeah, why not. It'd be a nice change. And, since I was in the area, I thought I'd stop by and say hello."

"How'd you find me?" I realized I had never given him my address. We talked from time to time and had kept in contact but since I hadn't expected him to visit I hadn't told him what it was.

"Your dad told me where you lived. He says hi by the way." Of course. It was just like my father to say hello through someone else instead of picking up a phone

"Well it's great to see you" I said and hugged him again

"So… Can I come in?" He put his hands on his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. He looked unbelievably cute when he did that.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Wait! Actually…" I couldn't let him in. I had completely forgotten that Niall was waiting for me inside. And it wasn't just that I had something important to tell Niall; these two couldn't be in the same room without something happening. They were not very close. There was a time where they were but for some reason they had a fight and never got over it. I stayed friends with both but they refused to be in the same room together.

"What is it?" he asked confused as to why I had taken my invitation back. But that confusion was put aside when Niall called my name

"Kitty!" he called a little loud. Cody's face turned surprised then annoyed. Niall walked up behind me and leaned in to look outside. From the look on his face I guessed he had recognized Cody's voice just as Cody had recognized his.

"Niall –"

"What are you doing here?" he interrupted me using a menacing tone. It seemed out of place on Niall's lips but matched his expression perfectly.

"What are you doing here?" Cody replied in the same tone. On him it was more fitting. His hair was shorter than I remember but he still had a bad boy look. Sort of like a skater

"Kitty and I were having a little talk. Why are you here?" Niall said moving closer as if to protect his territory

"Kitty was just about to invite me inside" Cody said moving closer too

"We're busy"

"Well this is nice…" I said quietly. I was used to having to come between them but it usually wasn't so literal. Right now, both were leaning into each other with only me separating them. I was afraid to think of what would happen if I wasn't here

"I'm sure you weren't too busy if she had time to come talk to me" Cody replied not having heard me. I heard Niall take a deep breath.

"Leave!"

"Make me!"

"Hey!" I said pushing them away from each other. "We've talked about this! Be nice okay"

"Whatever" they both said and glared at each other.

"Alright, now why don't both of you come inside… we could talk or something." They both gave one nod and walked inside. I sat on the couch and each took their place on either side of me. I tried not to focus on the fact that they were having a staring contest above my head. I didn't understand what had caused them to act like this when, as kids, we were all really close. Neither ever told me what the argument that had changed that was about

"So, Kitty" Cody said not pulling his eyes away from Niall. "Mind if I ask what you two were talking about." I saw Niall's turn to me for a second, probably since I had never actually said the words out loud.

"Oh, umm, we were just spending time together actually…" I said looking down. If I couldn't tell Niall when we were alone I certainly couldn't tell him with someone else here. Especially since that someone was Cody.

"Really? I guess that talk wasn't so important, was it Niall." Cody mocked as Niall gave him another look. I couldn't help but compare them to one another. Niall had softer features and Cody's eyes were hazel rather than blue. Both had brunette hair but since Niall dyed his it was only noticeable on Cody. Besides that and Cody's slight height advantage they looked somewhat similar. And they were both unbelievably attractive.

"What is it?" Niall asked looking down at me. I had spaced out I suppose.

"N- nothing. I'm fine"

"You sure?" Cody asked. Both looked a little worried. I nodded realizing I couldn't handle these two by myself. I sighed and changed the subject.

"Why don't I go get us some drinks?" I patted their knees and pushed myself up. I walked until I was completely out of sight in my kitchen and took out my phone. I hit the speed dial button and put my phone between my ear and my shoulder before turning to my fridge. Careful not to drop anything I poured three glasses of lemonade and waited impatiently as the phone continued to beep. I was about to give up when Lexi finally answered the phone.

"Hello?" she answered, sounding confused.

"Lexi! Where were you?!" I whispered as loud as I could

"I left my phone in my room. Mel why aren't you with Niall? Did you tell him? How –"

"Lexi, not now! I need you to come over right away!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I can't explain right now, just come over okay?"

"But why –"

"Come over right now!" I hissed at her

"Alright, alright, I'll be right there" she said and hung up. I quickly picked up the drinks and rushed back. Thankfully they were still alive, sitting on the couch, giving each other death stares.

"Here you go" I said handing each of them their glasses. They thanked me and I sat between them again. Niall took a sip from his as Cody put his arm around me, making me blush.

"So, Kitty, we haven't talked in a little while. How've you been?"

"Good" I said not able to think of anything else. He smelled so good…

"That's good" he said and leaned in with smile; a smile that made me blush even more. "How about you Niall? You must be very busy with your little boy band and all"

"Yeah I am actually. You know with travelling all over the world, winning so many awards, and having a single going double platinum it keeps a guy busy." Niall said with a superior look on his face.

"Dancing around to teen pop songs, very masculine" Cody smiled sarcastically and took a sip of his own drink. Niall leaned forward and I had to put a hand on his chest to keep him back. He leaned back but took my hand in his. Cody noticed too.

"It's okay I like teen pop songs. And Kitty does too right?" Niall smiled and surprisingly Cody did too

"Yeah that's why she's wearing a heavy metal band's t-shirt. You know Kitty with me moving here we can spend a lot more time together. A lot. Maybe we could go to a concert sometime." Niall's smile faded just as someone knocked on the door

Oh thank God, I thought as I got out from both their grasps; taking my hand back from Niall and the rest of me back from Cody.

"Be right back" I said and went to the door. When I opened it I wasn't at all surprised to see Lexi on the other side

"Hey so why the rush –" She didn't get to finish her sentence; I had pulled her inside.

"Hey look who decided to drop by" I said as I walked back to the two boys sitting on my couch. "It's Lexi! Cody I told you about Lexi right? Lexi, this is my friend from Mullingar, Cody Hayes"

"Hi, it's nice to meet you" Cody said as both he and Niall stood up. He shook her hand but neither of the boys looked very excited

"You too" Lexi replied smiling. She turned to me and gave me an approving look. This meaning she thought he was cute. I had told her about him but it hadn't been much other than a name.

"Hey, you know what" I said after the brief introduction. "You don't have drink yet. Why don't we get you one?"

"Wait but –"

"Be right back you two" I said interrupting Lexi and dragged her into the kitchen. They both sat back down, sharing a quick look, and proceeded to ignore one another.

"So is this why you asked me to come?" Lexi asked once we were safely in kitchen.

"Yeah… Look there's some things I didn't tell you about Cody that I probably should. So that you understand why I need you here"

"Like what?" she asked and I took in a deep breath so that I could get everything out as quickly as possible

"Okay. So Niall, Cody, and I used to all be friends back when we were kids. One day those two got in a fight and have refused to talk since. I don't know what the fight was about; they didn't tell me, so don't even ask. I still talked to both of them but it was usually separate so this didn't happen. Now Cody's moving to London and he came to visit and now they keep giving each other death glares and I don't know what to do."

"Okay I could see how that might put a damper on things…"

"That's not all. I'm also, kinda sorta, in love with him too… Don't give me that look! They're both really cute and really sweet and I care about both of them okay! And it's really hard to deal with just Niall and now I have Cody to worry about too and it's a lot of emotions! So please help me"

"Okay, calm down, so it's a little bad. Okay, really bad. Kinda like your outfit. What are you wearing?!" She almost screamed just now looking at my clothes.

"Really? You're doing this now?!"

"Fine, fine, sorry but honestly woman you couldn't have at least done something, I don't know, nice to your hair." I stared at her. "Okay, okay, so what do you want me to do?"

"Help me distract them so they don't kill each other" I said as I reached in the fridge for some lemonade. Hopefully with someone else here they'd feel more obliged to act nicely. Hopefully

"I'll try" she said as doubtful as I was


	23. Chapter 23

*Niall's POV*

I sat on the couch impatiently waiting for Kitty to come back into the living room. I was trying my hardest not to lose my temper but Cody wasn't making it easy. We kept staring at one another and I wouldn't be surprised if this ended in a fight. It had before. I hated him.

"It's not polite to stare" he said with that cocky smile clear on his face, not taking his eyes off me

"I wasn't staring at you."

"Hey, I get it. You're insecure and whatever but –"

"I'm not insecure" I said a little louder. It irritated me that people always thought I was

"Yes, you are." He leaned back on the couch, resting his arms against it as if he owned the place. "That's why you picked that stupid fight with me when we were kids"

"You started it"

"And you're the one who acted like a child"

"You have no right to be here so leave" I snapped, fed up with his attitude. He was always an arrogant cur and he hadn't changed.

"I don't have the right to be here?" he scoffed "This isn't your house, it's hers. She's my friend. I can be here if I want"

"She's my friend too"

"I didn't tell you to leave" he taunted. "Unlike you I'm not an insecure little prat"

"I'm not insecure!" I screamed

"Yeah, right. Then why do you get so mad when I talk to Kitty?"

"Stop calling her that!" I was trying to control myself but he was pushing me too far

"I came up with that name too, remember? You don't own it and you don't own her!" he yelled back.

"You are a cocky bastard who needs to stay away from her"

"You haven't changed" he hissed as he leaned in towards me. He was daring me to do something. "You're still a child. You can't deal with the fact that others are going to like her too and you're too much of a wimp to do anything about it"

"Like you're so brave? We've both liked her since we were kids and I don't see you asking her out" I retorted

"You're still not over that are you? I told you then and I'll tell you again I'm not just letting you have her." When we were younger we had a fight about who would marry Kitty. It had started off as a joke but when we realized that we both had feelings for her we stopped talking. Whenever we did talk, things ended badly. "And as for the 'asking her out' part... Well, why do you think I'm moving to London?"

"What?" Did he… "You are seriously moving all the way here just so you can ask her out?"

"There are a couple of other reasons but she was a big part of the decision, yes. And while you're out prancing around for 12 year old girls I'll be here, with Kitty, just the two of us."

"Leave" I cried having had enough

"You leave!" he shouted back moving closer to me

"I was here first!" I moved closer to him too

"And I'll be here last" He was calm and extremely confident. Man he pissed me off. We both stood up, facing each other. Neither wanted to back down. Normally I was a nice guy but he always brought out the worst in me.

"Get out!" I growled him through gritted teeth

"Make me!" he edged, stepping closer to me. Kitty and Lexi rushed in, probably having heard us

"Hey, what have I told you two." Kitty scolded, stepping between us. She sat us down, each on opposite ends of couch.

"Huh" Lexi said curiously and looked at Kitty. They exchanged a meaningful look. Kitty came to sit between us and Lexi took a seat close by. She changed the subject. "So Cody, I hear you're moving to London."

"Yeah I am" he said and smiled at Kitty, completely forgetting the screaming match we'd just had.

"Mind if I ask why?" Lexi asked and looked over to Kitty then quickly back to Cody. Unlike her, Lexi would probably be able to tell that Cody liked her too. Especially since he was sitting annoyingly close to her.

"Well it'd be a nice change of scene, you know. People, places, among other things…" he said and smiled down at Kitty. She smiled back. I think she blushed too. That bastard

"Where are you thinking of moving in?"

"I don't know yet, I'm still looking around. Actually, while we're on the subject…" He turned to Kitty. "Where's Jenna?"

"Why do you want to talk to my mum?" Kitty asked sounding as confused as the rest of us were

"Well I'm actually checked into a hotel right now but I was wondering if I could stay here, just for a week or two"

"What?" I almost screamed

"Well my mum's in the states right now but I could call her and ask"

"What?!" I stood up, not believing what I was hearing. Was she seriously going to let him stay here with her?

"Niall please this doesn't concern you" Cody said in a fake serious tone and stood up too

"This really is a problem…" I heard Lexi say to herself but we ignored her

"Guys, sit down" Kitty said, trying to calm us down

"Kitty would you please tell Niall to mind his own business" Cody said leaning in closer to her than he should

"Cody…"she said in a soft tone

"Tell that bloke to shut up" I snapped

"Niall" she said more serious

"Tell that prick to make!" He barked back

"Cody!"

"Is it me or did he just get cuter" Lexi said looking at Cody but once again we all ignored her

"Alright, Cody, here" Kitty said handing him her phone. "My mum's number is there. You can call her in the kitchen"

"Thank you." He walked away with a smug and satisfied look on his face

"You can't be serious!" I told her, not waiting for him to be completely in the kitchen. I swear, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stick out his tongue at me

"Niall, Cody is my friend too. He's staying in a hotel and I have room here. I would've done the same for you"

"Oh really? Well obviously not since I'm staying at a hotel too and you didn't even think about inviting me here did you?" She didn't answer. "Don't worry, I'm leaving anyway." I took out my phone to text my driver to come pick me up. I couldn't stay in the same building as that guy for another second

"What? Why?" she asked surprised. I looked away from the phone to see her face. It looked sad but I was too mad to notice properly

"Obviously you want to be with Cody" I jeered at his name

"Niall –"

"Good news, I can stay" Cody announced appearing from kitchen "Jenna wants to talk to you though"

"Okay." She looked reluctantly to me but turned for the phone and walked into the kitchen

"What's wrong Niall?" Cody said in fake sympathy

"Bite me" This day had gone completely wrong. Me and Kitty were supposed to have spent the whole day alone. She was supposed to have told me she loved me too. This is what I get for getting my hopes up…

"Niall…" Lexi called serious. She stood up and motioned for me to follow. I did and we stopped at the bottom of the stairs, just far enough that Cody wouldn't hear

"What?" I said angry

"Honey, please, you don't scare me" she said crossing her arms and I didn't doubt it

"What do you want?" I asked impatient

"I get that Cody likes Mel and that you're mad that she's letting him stay here but don't talk to her that way."

"How am I supposed to talk to her? We were going to have a talk then suddenly he shows up and she completely ignores me!"

"Well it's not doing you any good to be mad. You might as well just hand her over to him"

"He's acting the same way!" I shouted defensively

"Yeah but on him it's hot" she said unashamed

"Seriously?" Did she enjoy putting me down?

"Look you're a sweetheart, that's your thing. So go with it"

"What are you talking about?" She sighed

"If you want to win her over you're going to have to keep being a sweetheart. That's probably your only way in. Don't get me wrong you look hot when you're mad too but it doesn't suit you as well."

"Fine" was all I said. We walked back to the living room to find Cody flirting with Kitty. I couldn't hear them but I could tell. There was a beep and I looked to find a text. "My driver's here"

"Aww, leaving already?" Cody said not bothering to hide his smile

"Yeah but don't worry I'll be back soon." I was happy to see that this brought a smile to Kitty's face, making me smile too. She left Cody's side and walked to me. It made me smile more

"You know you're always welcome here" she said looking up at me

"I know" I said and hugged her. She was too cute to stay mad at. Before she could leave my grasp I leaned down and gave her a long kiss on the cheek. She was shocked and blushed a little. It made me happy to know that I could make her do that too.

"I'll see you soon" I said and walked out of the door. As I rushed into the car I thought about the double meaning in my words . They were sweet to Kitty but a warning to Cody. I would be back and I was not going to let him have her so easily


	24. Chapter 24

"Well you were no help" I grumbled, hugging one of the couch pillows to my chest

"Sorry, I know, but what did you want me to do anyway?" Lexi apologized coming to sit next to me.

"I don't know but something!" I sighed and buried my face in the pillow. Cody had left just a while before to get his things from the hotel. My mum had said it was okay if he stayed as long as he behaved himself. Cody was a little bit of a rebel and he had a bit of an anger problem but I couldn't remember a time when he was anything but sweet to me. Except maybe when we first met and he thought I had cooties… he got over that pretty quickly though

"Relax, okay. You should be happy. Most girls dream of having two hot boys fighting over them. You're living the dream!" I had to laugh. The idea that they would be fighting over me seemed beyond ridiculous. Sure Cody flirted with me from time to time but that was just his nature. From the look on Lexi's face I could tell that she believed her words true but unfortunately they weren't. It was very unfortunate

"Yeah, okay, I'll try. One thing's for sure though, I can't tell Niall anything until Cody leaves." I was expecting some form of protest from her but she simply nodded.

"It's probably not a good idea if Cody's really going to be staying here. By the way, does he have any single brothers?" I smiled again at the sudden change of subject

"No, he's an only child. You could ask him out though, I wouldn't mind." The truth was I would mind but for my best friend I could suck it up. Besides if he was dating someone it would make my decision much easier. For someone so cute he had an extremely short list of girl's he'd dated.

"I don't think I'm his type." She gave me a look but I didn't understand the meaning of it. Lexi was pretty, blonde, and confident; how could she not be anyone's type? She smiled at my confused face and shook her head. "How are you so smart yet so clueless?"

I made a face and was about to complain when we heard a knock on the door. I opened it to find a very happy looking Cody standing with a mixture of bags and a suitcase. Since it was getting late now it couldn't really be anyone else. Few people visited me as it was. He walked through the door and Lexi walked out before I could close it.

"Are you leaving?" I wasn't sure if I was happy about that or not. Part of me didn't want to be left alone with Cody, in a big empty house, just for us. Yet another part of me did want to be alone with him, in a big empty house, just for us…

"Yeah, I told Grace that I'd cover her shift tomorrow" she said though I suspected there was more to it than that.

"Do you want us to walk you home? It's getting late" Cody asked. I smiled and Lexi laughed; obviously he didn't know her that well.

"Don't worry about it. I live like two blocks away. I think I'll be fine." She hugged me goodbye and closed the door behind her. Cody didn't understand what was so funny but he shrugged it off. He wasn't one to dwell on things. We sat on the couch for a few seconds before things finally set in. We were alone

"So…" Cody said getting my attention. He gave me a sweet smile, making me relax. I found it strange how easily he could get my emotions to go either way.

"So?" I asked shuffling my feet

"So do I get to share your bed?" He made me shiver, looking so hopeful

"No!" I turned around, busying myself. I grabbed the pillow on the other side of me and started fluffing it, not wanting him to see me blush.

"Kidding! I'm kidding!" He reached over and pulled both my hands to him, making me turn around. As if I wasn't blushing enough he held on to them.

"Okay…" I hoped I didn't sound as anxious as I felt

"I'll be a gentleman, don't worry" he promised. His words sounded sincere but the smile on his face was wicked. It always looked that way but it still made me nervous. Good nervous but nervous. I was very nervous okay. "Besides, Jenna would kill me if I tried anything with her little Sugah"

"Stop it" I laughed and swatted away his hand; it kept trying to pinch my cheek. "If you want I could sleep in my mum's room so you could sleep in mine…" I tried not to focus on the fact that if he did he would be in my bed.

"Would that be breaking any rules?" he asked as if he cared. He smiled at the absurdity of his own words

"No it'd be fine." My mum and I had talked about it when Cody had handed me the phone. She said that as long as we weren't sharing a bed it was fine. Not that I was that kind of girl but you know parents, just wanted to make sure. She also said that if he gave me any kind of trouble I had every right to kick him out. But besides that, he was free to stay. She did slyly mention that I should try to keep him from damaging anything if anyone else happened to come over. Meaning? Try to keep him from fighting with Niall.

"Well great then. Off to your room we go" he linked his arm with mine and happily made his way up the stairs.

Once we got all his things in my room Cody spent no time making himself at home. Within the minute he had taken off his shoes, thrown himself on my bed, and began looking through my things. My guess was he was keeping the rest of his clothes on as a courtesy to me. He was a really carefree person; one of the things I loved most about him. I worked to empty a few drawers so he had room to put his stuff. A week or two was a long time to keep his things in that suitcase.

"You sure you don't need help?" he asked not looking up from a book he had found on my bedside table

"No, it's okay, I'm done" I showed him the two drawers I had emptied. "Don't look through my other ones" I warned but I didn't believe he would anyway. He really was a gentleman

"Yeah, yeah" he said walking over to me. He looked over the things I had on top of my dresser and stopped when he found something that stood out of place. He grabbed the hat and placed it on his head. "Supra snapback! Nice. I didn't know you wore snapbacks"

"I don't… That's Niall's" I said quietly, afraid of what his reaction would be. I had forgotten to give it back to him since I took it

Cody's smile faded. He slowly took off the hat and looked at it in his hands. He studies it for a few seconds as if he were trying to decide something. For a moment I thought he was going to try to step on it but he didn't. He merely tossed it back on the dresser and went to lie back on the bed. I sighed with relief and placed the hat in one of my drawers

"It's getting late" I heard him say. It was a quiet comment, thoughtful. I turned to see him with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. As if he could sense my staring he turned to me too and gave me a smile. It was a small smile, sweet, with his eyes looking extremely tender. I felt myself get a little lightheaded.

"Yea– Yeah it is." I said, getting myself back down to earth. "I should go to my mum's room now"

"You wanna take anything with you?" He sat up but made no attempt to get out of bed. He looked unusually comfortable there. But I guess that was a good thing

"No, it's okay. I have some extra clothes in her room anyway." He didn't ask why just nodded and lay himself back down

"Well goodnight"

"Goodnight" I said and headed out the door, just a little reluctant

"Wait" he called and walked over to me.

"What is it?" I asked, thinking I had forgotten to tell him where the blankets were or something. But that wasn't it. Cody kept walking until our bodies were only a foot away from each other. He leaned into me and brought his face so close to mine I could practically feel his breath on my face

"Sweet dreams" he said in an airy voice and closed the last few inches between us with a kiss on my cheek. Not being able to think of any words to say, much less a sentence, I nodded my head. It was probably faster than it should have been, as if I was subconsciously trying to force my blood back down my face so I wouldn't blush. I smiled a small smile and rushed out of my room hoping he hadn't seen anything


	25. Chapter 25

"I've got to say I like that outfit a lot better than yesterday's"

Cody's voice spooked me, making me jump. I had forgotten he was here. From the couch he continued to smile at me as I self-consciously realized what I was wearing. It had gotten a little hot last night so I ditched the sweats and t-shirt for boxer shorts and a tank top. Since it was usually only me, my mum, and Lexi here I never had to think twice about the clothes I wore. Maybe Niall had been right to freak out after all…

"Morning" he added when I still hadn't said anything

"Morning" I replied and rushed to kitchen. Once there I tried to steady breathing while I was still alone. Cody hadn't given me the same courtesy as last night. Today he was shirtless and I was pretty sure that he had borrowed a pair of my sweatpants. Why does he have to be so attractive?

"So," he said turning the corner into the kitchen, making me jump again. "What's for breakfast?"

"Umm I don't know. What do you want? We have cereal or I could make you something…" I spoke trying not to stare. Just from one look it was evident that Cody worked out, a lot.

"Would you?" he said sounding excited. "I haven't had your cooking in forever!"

"Sure. You wait in the living room while I get started" I said hoping he'd get the hint. If he had he ignored it.

"No I wanna help!" he whined.

"Fine" I sighed and walked over to the fridge. He happily joined me.

For breakfast we decided to make something basic. I put Cody in charge of cooking bacon and sausage links while I made the pancakes and eggs. He wasn't much of a cook but he didn't burn anything. I had a feeling that all guys had special skills when it came to cooking meat. I, on the other hand, almost burned myself a few times. It's not easy cooking next to a really attractive boy you're basically in love with who just happens to be shirtless and standing very close to you…

Once we were done with that I put Cody in charge of setting the table while I served our plates and drinks. At the table we ate and laughed and had a pretty good time. I was used to eating breakfast by myself and I had to admit this was nice. When we were all done with our food Cody even offered to take care of the dishes. He was such a sweetheart

"I'm going to get changed"

"'Kay!" Cody called as I walked up stairs. I walked through the door and locked it once I was inside my room. It's not like I thought he'd peek at me but just to be sure. I groaned slightly when I saw that he had already turned my room into a pigsty. The drawers I had emptied for him were both opened with clothes spilling out over the top. The floor was covered in clothes too, and shoes.

"Boys…" I shook my head and walked towards the closet. I picked out some acid washed jeans and a band tank top since it was still pretty hot. After I put on the clothes I went to my bathroom to wash my face and put on just a little bit of makeup. Looking in the mirror I started to see that for the past few days, except for when Lexi picked out my clothes, all I seemed to wear were band tees. "Huh…"

On my way to the door I tripped on one of Cody's sneakers. Again, I groaned at the mess and I couldn't help myself. I started cleaning up. The clothes were folded and the sneakers were neatly set aside, against the wall where they couldn't hurt anyone. I made the bed too. Once I was satisfied with the room I nodded to myself and walked out. In the hall I found Cody leaning against a wall outside my door.

"Well no wonder you took so long" he commented looking inside the room. I could tell he was suppressing a smile and he wasn't doing a very good job at it

"What happened in there?" I exclaimed and he laughed, not being able to control himself anymore. He walked past me and went to the drawers for some clothes

"You know I'm not much of a neat freak." He put on a tank top that reminded me a lot of the one I was wearing. I had to admit though, I was a little sad about seeing him with clothes back on... He looked over me and smiled. "I'm gonna take my pants off now. You can stay and watch but –"

"Bye" I said and closed door behind me. His muffled laugh rang through the hall. I went downstairs and saw that unlike in my room he'd really cleaned here. I sat on the couch, waiting for him to come back down as my phone started to ring. Lexi was calling me

"Hello?" I answered

"Hey babe, how's it going with the sexy skater boy?" she giggled and I had to admit that was a perfect description of him…

"It's… it's going." I said and glanced at the stairs.

"Is he being a gentleman?"

"Yeah, he is actually. Wait, shouldn't you be working?" It should still be time for her shift.

"I am… sort of. Anyway what are you two going to do today?" she changed the subject.

"Show him around London I guess. I can't think of anything else…"

"I'm sure he could think of a few things _he_ wants to do with _you_" I could hear smile the in her words

"Why do I get the feeling that you're thinking of something inappropriate?"

"Because you know me so well" she giggled again and I heard footsteps. Cody was coming back downstairs

"I'll call you later okay?"

"Sure, sure. Have fun" she teased and we hung up

"I'm back" Cody announced when he reached the final step. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well I was thinking I could show you around London. To all the touristy placed and such, since this is the first time you've been here." I honestly couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Whatever you want is fine by me. I'm all yours." He smiled and I did too

"Alright, well, let's go then." I said and we headed to the door. Cody reached for his Chocolate zip up hoodie and I got a text. I shook my head expecting a suggestive comment from Lexi. But it wasn't her text, it was from Niall.

_Hey Kitty, good morning. Forgot to tell you last night but I got a new phone. Text me whenever. Sorry about the way I acted yesterday you know how it is with us. Hope to see you soon. –Niall_

"Who is it?" Cody asked leaning in trying to see my phone

"Lexi" I lied and put my phone back in my jeans. "I told her about my plan. She just wanted to recommend a few places."

"Okay…" Cody said a little suspicious but just shrugged it off. He walked to the door and held it open for me, bowing and smiling at the ground. "After you, milady."

I giggled and he followed me out the door.


	26. Chapter 26

We spent the whole day out on the town. As promised I took Cody to all the common tourist sites in London. We visited Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge, and Buckingham Palace. Besides that we just walked around the city spending time together. Big Ben struck as we passed it making us vibrate from the sound. Cody enjoyed his time but I had saved the best for last

Once it started getting dark I took Cody to the London Eye. It was one of my favorite places in all of London and I was excited to take him there. We waited in line but it wasn't boring. There was hardly a time when we were just standing and the street performers nearby kept things entertaining. I was seriously impressed with the muscle strength of the people statues. I was sure I could never be able to do that. My version of a workout was walking from the couch to the kitchen.

"Come on, we're next" Cody said pulling my arm in. Surprisingly we got a capsule to ourselves. There weren't many people in line today, probably because it was a weekday. We got on and soon enough the wheel turned, slowly lifting us up. It was beautiful, the London sky at night. I had been on several times before and I still loved coming here.

"It's beautiful isn't it…" I said dreamily as I stared at all of London

"Yeah…" Cody answered but something in his voice sounded off. I turned around to find he was looking down at me, his expression distant. "I think I'm going to like living here." He laughed a little to himself as I smiled back. We spent the rest of our time watching the skyline in silence. Every once in a while I found him looking down at me but otherwise we just enjoyed our time in the capsule. Once our time was up we left the London Eye to go to a park near my home. After crossing the River Thames we arrived at Green Park.

There were very few light posts lighting the path in the park. We were sometimes caught in the darkness between but eventually went back to the light. I would have never walked here alone at night but with Cody I felt safe. He wasn't a very goody-two-shoes kind of person and I had seen what he could do in a fight. With him next to me I had nothing to worry about.

"Wanna sit down?" he asked motioning to a bench nearby. I nodded and fell onto the seat. The bench was cold and it felt good against my skin. Today had been a hot day, or at least as hot as it can get here. I leaned back on the bench and wiggled uncomfortably against the stiff metal

"Here" Cody said, leaning my head forward. He put his arm on the back of the bench and leaned me back, resting my head on his arm. I could feel his muscles flexing under me, he had so many. Even with those it was soft and very comfortable. "Better?"

"Yeah" I nodded and smiled up at him. It made me laugh a little how short I was compared to everyone around me. Niall was about five inches taller than me and Cody was at least eight. I tried to remember a time when I may have been taller than one of them but I couldn't. I had always been short and I just had to accept that. I was brought back from my thoughts by Cody's laughter next to me

"So, you come here often?" he commented making me laugh

"Sometimes but never at night" I replied. I knew his words had only been a joke but I had a habit of answering questions, no matter how silly they were.

"Good. A girl like you should never be out at night alone."

"What do you mean a girl like me?" I asked but instead of answering he smiled to himself and looked around the park. It was mostly deserted, besides the two of us. Every once in a while I would see a shadow a little ways away but I never saw an actual person. A breeze hit us, making me shiver. It had gotten a little colder than I had expected and I hadn't brought a jacket with me. It didn't occur to me that we would spend the entire day out and now all I was left with was a tank top and goosebumps.

I heard Cody chuckle next to me and turned to see him shaking his head at me. He had mentioned several times through the day that we should go back home and get me a coat before it got too cold. I had insisted several times that I was fine and that I wouldn't get that cold. Obviously I had been wrong. I stuck out my tongue at him making laugh even more.

"I told you so" he mocked taking his arm from behind my head. I was going to make a snide comment, or at least as snide as I can get, before I saw what he was doing. Cody took off his Chocolate hoodie and held it out to me. I didn't even bother denying it since he would've argued with me until I took it. I liked guy jackets; they were actually designed to keep them warm. Girl jackets were made to be pretty and a lot of the time they didn't even help me against the cold.

"Thank you" I told him and put it on. His hoody smelled just like my favorite cologne. I had given it to him for his last birthday, Bleu de Chanel. It was the best thing I had ever smelled and it made my head swim, the fact that he smelled like that too. I rubbed nose against the long sleeves to make it less obvious that I was smelling him. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice.

For a long time we just sat there, talking about random things. We spoke of our hometown and all that I had missed. Cody made a point to tell me it wasn't much. I asked him what his plan was, now that he was moving to London. He had the same idea as Lexi; get a job and maybe go to a few classes at a local Uni. But first, he wanted to find a flat. I told him he could stay with us as long as he wanted and he smiled very thankful. Eventually we made our way back home, having done more than enough for one day.

Once we were back home we were both spent. Still, I wasn't tired. Cody turned to the TV while I went up to my room to change. First thing I did was take off my shoes. The cold floor against my bare feet made me shiver but with the weather being a lot nicer than outside I didn't mind. I put myself into some sweats and a different tank top. It had originally been a t-shirt but I cut the sleeves off and some of the neckline. I folded my clothes and neatly put them on top of my dresser before hurrying downstairs to Cody.

"You're shirt's on backwards" was the first thing he said. He started laughing at me as I looked down. He was right. I puffed a cheek in protest which only made him laughed harder.

"I happen to like it this way" I lied, walking to the couch. Cody was skipping through channels looking perfectly at home here. I smiled. "You tired?"

"No" he shook his head and smiled back. "You probably are though" he mentioned looking at my shirt again. I laughed and slapped him on his shoulder. He stopped on a sappy romantic movie, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. He turned to me with a smile plain on his face "Wanna watch?"

"Sure" I laughed and turned to the TV. Unlike most people Cody understood my indifference towards romantic comedies. He never tried to make feel like I needed to take it seriously even though I knew he did. He always denied it but I knew deep down the boy was a romantic.

We sat on the couch and laughed as the movie came to its obvious end. Everything was good in their world and they all lived happily ever after. Once it was over Cody went back to flipping channels and once he settled on something a little less sappy he asked me if I was hungry. I nodded. Neither of us wanted to cook so we settled for ordering a pizza. As he did I decided to text Niall back. A lot of time had passed since this morning but I felt bad that I hadn't said anything. What was worse is that I had been too distracted with Cody to even think about texting him…


	27. Chapter 27

*Cody's POV*

After I called for the pizza I went back to the couch to wait for it to arrive. It was late but neither of us was tired. I asked Kitty several times but she insisted that she was awake. I doubted that considering her shirt was still backwards. She spaced out every now and then too but then again that's how she always was. I tried to focus on the TV and not on the fact that she kept texting Niall. She hadn't mentioned who the texts were from but I knew it was _him_

Her phone beeped as she got another message. I got up from the couch and walked towards kitchen a bit annoyed. Alright, a lot annoyed. She looked down at the phone and smiled again. It pissed me off that he could get her to smile so easily. He always had, that pest

"Who keeps texting you?" I called trying to sound uninterested. I looked in fridge, trying to remember where I put what I was looking for

"…Niall" she answered carefully, confirming suspicions. I hated him. Why couldn't he just leave us alone? Every time I tried to be alone with Kitty he'd be there, one way or another. It was never just her and me, he always had to show up and ruin everything.

"What does that bloke want?" I asked unable to hide how annoyed I was. Once I found what I had been looking for I pulled the drink from the back of the fridge and walked back to the living room.

"Don't call him that…" she said in a sweet tone. That was only thing that ever stopped me from punching his face in… she cared about him and would've been mad. She never liked it when I got into fights. "He… just wanted to see if I wanted to… have dinner with him this week…" she added quietly. That pissed me off even more

"Are you going?" I asked as I tipped bottle to take drink.

"I don't know… I –" she stopped when she saw what in my hand. "Is that beer?!"

"Yup" I grinned as I flopped down on the seat next to her. She continued to stare

"Since when do I have beer?" I laughed at her comment. That _would_ be her first question

"I bought a case this morning before you got up" I replied, taking another drink from it. It made me happy to see she had completely forgotten about _him._ I could see the half written message on her phone screen. She hadn't even sent it.

"Why are you drinking?" she asked sounding a little worried. I rolled my eyes at her but she kept her face serious, making me answer

"Because if I don't I'll die of thirst. You see, our bodies, while solid, are made up of 90 percent water –"

"You know that's not what I mean" she said and hit my shoulder playfully. I love it when she does that. "And besides, they're only 60 to 70 percent water"

"Well aren't you the little brainiac" I teased and put my arm around her. I took another sip. "I just felt like one is all"

"Just don't drink too many okay?" she answered in a little voice and looked down at her hands. She was worried about me. I wasn't exactly a perfect child and had started drinking much younger than I should have. Ever since then she had told me to stop and while I didn't she did get me to drink less. I always had anger issues and while I normally masked it with sarcasm or snide comments alcohol was one of the few things that would help me unwind. The other was Kitty.

I squeezed her shoulder so she would look up at me. Her amber eyes stared up at me and I forgot what I was going to say. I remember when I first met her, back when I still believed in cooties; I had convinced myself she was an alien. No human could have such beautiful eyes. I had spent hours thinking about them and the way they would shine. In the shadows they looked almost green but would turn gold when light hit them. A lot of people thought they were hazel but they weren't. Hers were nowhere near as dull or boring as mine. They, like the rest of her, were pure perfection…

"Are you drunk?" she surprised me by asking and I laughed.

"No, course not! I'm not even done with – oh" The bottle in my hand was now completely empty. I burst into laughter again and stopped suddenly. Weird, it usually took a few more before I felt the effect of it. Must be her presence; adding to the effects of the alcohol. Usually she alone was enough to get me drunk

"Cody" she sighed and I smiled a huge smile. She looked a little surprised and I realized I usually didn't show her how much I loved it when she said my name. Figuring I could just blame the alcohol for it later I rested my head on her shoulder and reached my arm to meet the other at her shoulder, hugging her.

"Kitty" I sighed in reply and closed my eyes. I couldn't see her but I could tell she was smiling. I smiled too. I felt her move as she put her phone back in her pocket._ Wondered if she texted Niall back_. It wouldn't matter if she had. He was miles away and I was here, right next to her. My smile widened

"You okay?" I heard a slight laugh in her voice

"Never better" I looked up and gave her a goofy grin. She laughed. Niall wasn't the only one who could get her to do that. I grinned smugly. The doorbell rang and I let go of her so she could get the pizza. I went back to the kitchen for another beer and heard her as she thanked the guy and paid him. Well technically I had paid him. I made sure to give her more than enough money for the pizza. I would not let her pay for anything while I was around.

"Come on or I'm eating the pizza without you!" she yelled from living room and I laughed. I hurried back pretending to be scared by the news but she frowned when she saw my hand. "Another one?"

"Relax it's just two," I tried to reassure her but failed. "This will be my last one… tonight anyway" I promised and she nodded reaching for a slice of pizza. She worried too much about me. She was too good.

"I don't know how you can even drink that" she said and wrinkled her nose. I shrugged finding her too adorable to be able to speak. I took a mouthful of it and she made another face. "Seriously, doesn't the taste bother you?"

"At first it did, yeah. Jeremy had to practically shove my first one down my throat. After a while though, you get used to it." I took a bite of my own slice taking almost half in my mouth. I swallowed and took another swig from the bottle when I realized Kitty was staring at me. "What?"

"You're saying that you were forced by someone to do something until you eventually started liking it?" Her tone made me feel uncertain but I nodded

"I guess, yeah…" I answered curious as to where she was going with this

"…Isn't that like Stockholm Syndrome?" she asked completely serious and I burst out in laughter. I wasn't sure if it would've been that funny without the alcohol but I couldn't stop myself. I almost spilled the drink but she didn't complain. When I finally stopped I was left with shallow breathing and shook my head. "Well it is…"

"You," I said and pinched her cheek, "are adorable."

"Don't call me that…" she mumbled in a finishing tone but I answered anyway

"Why not? You are a very adorable little girl" I teased reaching for her cheek again but she slapped my hand away.

"I am not little" she said defiantly crossing her arms and I laughed. Both at the gesture and at the comment. She was sweet and innocent as if she were little but she definitely did not look it. She had developed quite nicely over the years and to be honest I had to constantly remind myself not to stare. In fact a lot of the fights I had in school were because others didn't hold the same courtesy I did. I knew she wasn't my girlfriend but that didn't mean I was going to let them get away with that

I laughed a little to myself and rested my head on her lap, putting my beer on the edge of the coffee table as I did. She stiffened a little but made no attempt to kick me off. I closed my eyes and nuzzled myself against the soft fabric of her sweats. I bet Niall had never done this with her. He was too much of a coward to try anything. I was scared too but unlike him I had a good reason. If I were to lose her I would be left completely alone

While Niall was off being annoyingly social I never had many friends. I had people I hung out with sure but no one who actually cared about me. I was the screw up. I hung around with other screw ups. On top of that I had anger issues which caused me to beat up a lot of kids. Most were scared of me before they even met me. And unlike all of them, Kitty never was. More of a reason why I thought she was an alien. She was too sweet to me, too perfect… I didn't deserve her then and I didn't think I deserved her now. But that didn't mean I wouldn't keep on trying


End file.
